Afroswing, also known as Afrobashment, or less commonly Afrobbean, or Afrowave[1][2][3] is a genre of music that developed in the UK during the mid-2010s, derivative of dancehall and afrobeats, with influences from trap, British hip hop, R&B, and grime.
[4] Producer Steel Banglez stated the key elements of afroswing were happy or dark chords that "make you feel a certain way", and that "drum pattern is the most important thing about this whole sound, it's the snare that comes on the third.
"[9] Martin Connor, an expert in vocal melodies and rap analysis, described the characteristics of the genre as being "[..] technically in 4/4, what you will hear over and over again is this recurring pattern made up of three notes that are still repeated in the framework of a 4/4 time signature [..] You can hear the inspirations of Jamaican music in the rhythm except Jamaican music doesn’t have a bass kick and the snare – that’s hip hop, that’s traditional rap.
Yet it still has a hip hop sensibility in terms of lyrical focus and music videos: cars, money, authenticity, hardness".
In February 2014, Timbo and Mover released "Ringtone", which DJ Kenny Allstar credited as opening "the door to the bridge of Afro-rap and the evolution of Afroswing, which was essentially someone laying a hook over a rap record".
[13] The rise of producers Jae5, Blairy Hendrix, Joshua Beatz, and rapper J Hus saw the sound begin to distinguish and cement itself.
[22] Blairy Hendrix and Joshua Beatz, producers for J Hus, were in 2014 initially calling their sound "Traprobeats", denoting the various influences of afrobeats and trap music.
[25] Spotify however, opted to go for "AfroBashment", a term coined by Austin Daboh who was hired by BBC 1Xtra, denoting its fusion of bashment and afrobeats styles.
[12] The first notable song in the genre was released in 2015, titled "Dem Boy Paigon", quickly elevating J Hus' status and becoming a club hit, and soon after ushering in a new wave of artists making similar music.
[2] In 2015, a three-member group called WSTRN gained international attention via Drake's OVO Sound Radio, which had played their 2015 breakout single "In2" on Beats1.