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Reference
African style reference
Afrobeats, amapiano, highlife, soukous, mbalax, gnawa and more, each with a ready-to-paste cue line.
How to use this list
Each row pairs a style term with a cue line written in the same grammar: what the music is, what plays it, roughly how fast, and how it feels. Copy the cue, then change one thing at a time so you can tell which token moved the result.
Log drums, talking drums, palm-wine guitar and sabar polyrhythm read very differently to the model, so name the tradition instead of writing "African".
Combining entries
Pair one groove term with one instrument term and one mood word; three precise tokens beat ten vague ones.
If a take drifts away from what you wanted, remove tokens rather than adding more. Long prompts dilute; short, specific ones steer.
| Afrobeats | afrobeats, syncopated log-drum and shaker groove, bright plucked guitar, warm sub bass, 104 BPM, smooth male vocal, sunny club mood |
| Afrobeat (classic) | classic afrobeat, long horn section riffs, tight funk guitar, busy conga and clave layers, 112 BPM, call-and-response chorus, political heat |
| Highlife | highlife, interlocking palm-wine guitar lines, brass stabs, light trap-kit swing, 98 BPM, cheerful group vocals, open-air party mood |
| Amapiano | amapiano, deep log drum bassline, airy piano chords, shaker-led percussion, 112 BPM, soft spoken vocal, late-night rooftop feel |
| Gqom | gqom, hard four-note bass pulse, dry tribal drum hits, minimal synth stab, 124 BPM, chanted hook, dark warehouse energy |
| Kwaito | kwaito, slow house kick, thick bass, sparse marimba synth, 108 BPM, laid-back male chant, township swagger |
| Soukous | soukous, fast interlocking rumba guitars, sebene solo runs, snappy hi-hat drive, 138 BPM, joyous lead vocal, dancefloor euphoria |
| Congolese rumba | congolese rumba, mellow two-guitar weave, brushed drums, soft brass pads, 92 BPM, romantic tenor vocal, candlelit sway |
| Mbalax | mbalax, sabar drum polyrhythm, urgent talking-drum accents, tight bass, 126 BPM, powerful raspy vocal, festival intensity |
| Bongo Flava | bongo flava, swung Swahili pop groove, warm keys, light autotuned harmony, 100 BPM, melodic male vocal, coastal romance |
| Coupé-décalé | coupe-decale, punchy atalaku percussion, bright synth hook, chant-along refrain, 128 BPM, party crowd energy |
| Ethio-jazz | ethio-jazz, minor pentatonic horn theme, loose organ comping, brushed swing drums, 86 BPM, instrumental, smoky nocturnal mood |
| Desert blues | desert blues, hypnotic circular electric guitar figure, hand percussion, drone bass, 88 BPM, weathered vocal, endless-horizon feel |
| Gnawa fusion | gnawa fusion, guembri bass ostinato, metallic qraqeb clatter, trance drums, 96 BPM, chanted refrain, ritual momentum |
| Chimurenga | chimurenga, mbira-derived guitar pattern, gentle hosho shaker, rolling bass, 100 BPM, warm harmony vocals, hopeful groove |
| Benga | benga, quick fingerpicked guitar cascade, driving bass runs, bright snare, 132 BPM, cheerful lead vocal, lakeside dance mood |
| Juju | juju, layered talking drums, bright guitar arpeggios, sustained organ, 104 BPM, praise-singing lead, celebratory sprawl |
| Fuji | fuji, dense percussion ensemble, no drum kit, chanted Yoruba vocal, 108 BPM, hypnotic street-procession energy |
| Maskandi | maskandi, fast picked Zulu guitar, walking bass, shuffling drums, 116 BPM, storytelling vocal, dusty road feel |
| Township jive (mbaqanga) | mbaqanga, bouncy bass lead, chopping guitar, groaning bass vocal, 124 BPM, bright horn answers, joyful jive |
| Afro-house | afro-house, tribal drum layers, deep rolling bass, chant sample, 122 BPM, hands-up sunset mood |
| Afro-soul | afro-soul, warm Rhodes chords, soft conga, lyrical bass, 84 BPM, rich alto vocal, tender and grounded |
| Alté | alte, hazy lo-fi afro groove, dreamy guitar chords, loose drums, 96 BPM, half-sung vocal, cool detached mood |
| Zouglou | zouglou, bouncing offbeat guitar, group unison chorus, rattling percussion, 118 BPM, streetwise humour |
| Rai | rai, darbuka-led groove, synth accordion lines, ornamented vocal melisma, 110 BPM, defiant emotion |
| Taarab | taarab, oud and violin unison melody, soft tabla, swaying triple feel, 78 BPM, poetic vocal, coastal elegance |
| Kizomba | kizomba, slow semba-derived kick pattern, glossy synth pads, muted guitar, 90 BPM, breathy duet, close-dance intimacy |
| Afro-drill | afro-drill, sliding 808 bass, sparse drill hats, afro percussion, 142 BPM, cool menacing flow, night-city mood |
Raw data: /guide/reference/lists/african-list.json · 28 entries
FAQ
Can I blend Afrobeats with Western pop?
Yes. Keep the African rhythm term first so the percussion survives, then add the pop descriptor and stay near the listed BPM.
Do I have to use the whole african cue line?
No. The lines are built from independent tokens, so you can keep the two or three that matter and drop the rest without breaking the grammar.
Can I mix this list with another one?
Yes — keep one rhythm description, one lead instrument, one production word and a single tempo. Competing rhythm descriptions are the usual cause of muddled results.