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".
These artists collectively set the foundation for what would later turn into afroswing,[13] and contributed to the rise of youth embracing their African heritage.
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".
[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; the station had played their 2015 breakout single "In2" on Beats1.