From Lagos lecture halls to packed venues, ad-libbing hypemen are powering Afrohype, a high-octane Afrobeats sub-genre born of Nigerian creativity.
Nigerian creativity is once again reshaping the sound and feel of Afrobeats, this time through the hypemen (and hypewomen) who live on the mic. Their style of emceeing runs on rapid-fire ad-libs, hilarious quips and relentless energy, and it has become one of the most distinctive ways African music captivates a crowd.
The story of one of its pioneers starts in a University of Lagos lecture hall. In 2015, a history student's first-semester presentation had his freshman classmates so hooked that they nicknamed him Toby Shang, after the Chinese dynasty he had covered. The charisma behind that moment was years in the making. He had sharpened it in high school as a ginger-man, the energiser of a three-man band, and later as a private tutor who had to keep learners locked in.
By his final year on campus, his catchphrases were spreading online and his infectious energy had turned into a hit record, Shedibalabala. Today he counts himself among the self-styled "evangelists and pioneers" of a sub-genre that some now call Afrohype, or lamba.
The lesson is that in Afrobeats, the person hyping the song can be as important as the song itself. The hypeman's voice fills the gaps and lifts the mood, and it gives audiences something to shout back. Born in Nigerian classrooms, bands and parties, the craft is growing into a cultural force of its own, and Africa is setting the tempo.
