Has Afromusic Influenced A New K-Pop Sound?

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K-Pop songs have had a track record of being extremely catchy. Of course, the choreography is what has fans in awe a lot of times. But we believe the real catchiness comes from the production and composition of the music, from the beat or instrumentals to the lyrical structure and delivery.

Music, especially pop music today, draws inspiration from different cultures. We have analyzed K-Pop, with its addictive sound and all, and noticed the increasing use of Afrobeats instrumentals in them. In this article, we intend to take you on a deep dive into just how big of a part—and option—Afromusic and the Afrobeat sound has played and become on K-Pop music production.

 

Music Genres In Modern K-Pop

First off, let’s notice that the one of the most prominent music genre influences on K-Pop is EDM trap and electro-pop. This change arguably popularized with the debut of 4th gen groups like ATEEZ, Stray Kids, and EVERGLOW. Combine this electronic sound with synthesizer sounds and you have synth-pop reminiscent of aespa, NMIXX and TREASURE. We also see the concept of ‘beat drops’ as well, which brings into K-Pop music production other electronic genres like dubstep and techno, even d