The campaign worked so well that the name stuck, and the World Music category was born. The influence of African rhythms goes back several hundred years. History tells us that the music of countries like Spain and Portugal were very much impacted by African musical traits imported by West African enslaved natives in these countries over a period of several generations before the slave trade with the Americas. When I traveled to Cuba a couple of years ago I was not only thrilled to see the dominance of Africa's culture in this largest Caribbean nation, I was also amazed by how much of the African art and music was still alive and vibrant in all the Caribbean after four hundred years of oppression and deliberate denial of recognition for African cultures. The outstanding feature of African music, which sets it apart from other music, is the importance of rhythm and the dominance of percussion.
Music is a vital expression of African people.
From morning to night, from cradle to grave, everything is done to the rhythm of music. Today's Music of Africa In Africa, music is a living art form passed on from one generation to the next. Essentially, African music, with few exceptions, is for dancing. As we witness today, a myriad of music and dance styles have sprung from African countries. It was created by Africa's most outspoken artist, the late Fela Ransome Kuti of Nigeria in the early 70s at the time British rock and American soul music were dominating Africa's music scene.