Inside Afrobeats: Meet the host behind the 4-part series

CBC

6 days ago

This is part a special four-part audio series co-produced JJ Okonkwo and the CBC's Katie Rowe and Amy Joy.
For JJ Okonkwo, Afrobeats is more than just a genre of music — it's a part of who he is.
"Afrobeats holds a special place in my heart because it echoes the rhythm of where I come from," said Okonkwo.
Afrobeats is a fairly young genre of music. It gained prominence in the early 2000s, combining West African musical styles with elements of hip-hop, R&B, dancehall and other genres.
Okonkwo witnessed the early rise of Afrobeats and he was immediately hooked.
"What I love most about Afrobeats is its versatility. It blends with any genre while staying proudly African. The beats bring instant joy, but it's the storytelling, the proverbs, and the punchy lyrics that make it truly unique. You can never mistake Afrobeats for anything else," he said.
Okonkwo grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, where he was born into a family of singers and spent his childhood surrounded by music. With his father's record collection and his brother's cassette tapes at his fingertips, Okonkwo was exposed to a wide variety of music.
In 2023, when Okonkwo moved to St. John's, he started listening to local radio stations to get a feel for the music scene in Canada. He found the stations were primarily playing mainstream western music with little representation from the Afrobeats genre.
"I felt disconnected. It didn't reflect the multicultural reality of Canadian society. That, to me, was a gap."
This gap is what inspired him to create Inside Afrobeats, a four-part audio series that explores the history and global impact of Afrobeats music.
For Okonkwo, he hopes the series will not only introduce people to some great music, but also raise awareness of the genre.
"The goal is to amplify the sound, the stories, and the culture behind the genre, and ensure that African voices and rhythms are part of the national conversation in music and media," said Okonkwo.