Afro-soul is a music genre that has African characteristics of

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became po ...

. It has emotional vocals, especially of the lead singer. There is a very strong link between Afro-soul and other genres like Afro-Jazz,

Amapiano Amapiano ( Zulu for "the pianos") is a style of house music that emerged in South Africa in the mid 2010s. It is a hybrid of deep house, jazz and lounge music characterized by synths and wide percussive basslines. It is distinguished by high-pit ...

, and

Afrobeats Afrobeats (not to be confused with Afrobeat or Afroswing), or Afro-pop or Afro-fusion (or Afropop or Afrofusion), is an umbrella term to describe popular music from West Africa and the diaspora that initially developed in Nigeria, Ghana, and ...

Notable musicians

Miriam Makeba Zenzile Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including African popular music, Afropop, jazz, a ...

, a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

-winning South African singer and

civil rights activist Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...

* Zahara, the South African recently discovered music prodigy *

Amanda Black Amanda Benedicta Antony (born 24 July 1993), known professionally as Amanda Black, is a South African singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Gcuwa her career began in 1999 at the age of 6 singing in church choirs. Amanda was a contestant ...

, multi award-winning songstress from South Africa *

Simphiwe Dana Simphiwe Dana (born 23 January 1980) is a South African singer and songwriter who works mostly in her mother tongue, the Xhosa language. Dana is also known for her creative social commentary and activism through music as a political art form. ...

, praised as "the best thing to happen to Afro-soul music since Miriam Makeba" *

Muma Gee Gift Iyumame Eke (née Uwame; born 18 November 1978), professionally known as Muma Gee (), meaning "do good Gift", is a Nigerian singer-songwriter, actress, businesswoman, fashion designer, television personality and politician. She was born, ...

, Nigerian singer * Scelo Gowane, South African singer * Siphokazi, a South African artist *

Les Nubians Les Nubians is a French musical duo, composed of sisters Hélène and Célia Faussart from Paris, France. In 1985, the sisters moved with their parents to Chad. Seven years later, they returned to Bordeaux, France, and began singing a cappella, p ...

, the French born sisters who are Afropean music singers *

The Budos Band The Budos Band is an American instrumental band from Staten Island, New York, formed in 2005. AllMusic describes the group as a "doom rock Afro-soul big band with a '70s touch" that joins "musical universes from trippy psychedelia and Afro-funk to ...

K'naan Keinan Abdi Warsame (born 1 February 1978) ( so, Keynaan Cabdi Warsame, ar, كَينَان عَبدِ وَرسَمَ ''Kaynān ʿAbdi Warsama''), better known by his stage name K'naan (), is a Somali-Canadian musician. He rose to prominence ...

Ginger Johnson George Folunsho "Ginger" Johnson (1916 – July 15, 1975) was a Nigerian percussionist and bandleader who was a prominent musician in London from the 1950s to the early 1970s. He led Ginger Johnson and His African Messengers, and recorded and per ...

Doug Kazé Douglas Eric Kazé (born 24 February 1979), better known as Doug Kazé, is a Nigerian musician. Early life and education Doug was born in 1979 to David and Margaret Kaze in Jos, Nigeria. He is the third of seven children. He attended primary sc ...

, Nigerian singer-songwriter * Manu Dibango, from

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

* Nomfusi, South African artist *

Lekan Babalola Olalekan Babalola (born ) is a Nigerian List of jazz percussionists, jazz percussionist and musician. Born in Lagos, Nigeria where he began playing the conga at a young age, he has released seven albums and jointly won two Grammy Awards. Early ...

* Grace Matata, Tanzanian afro-soul singer * Kumbie, Zimbabwean Singer/Songwriter

References

Soul music genres {{music-genre-stub