From TikTok sounds to chart-topping hits, Latin and African cultures are redefining the sound of pop music globally, says three BYU-Hawaii students
Believing pop music serves as a bridge between cultures, Nokwanda “Charity” Sibandze said it is due to certain collaborations happening in the music industry. “For example, Tyla singing her song with Travis Scott and Selena Gomez singing with Rema—performances that connect us. We are at a place where our similarities, connected through music, are more seen and embraced,” explained Sibandze, a sophomore majoring in business management with an emphasis in economics from Africa.
When collaborations are done with respect, it bridges cultures together, says Natalia Oviedo Marambio, a senior from Chile majoring in TESOL. “It lets people from different backgrounds connect over shared emotions and energy,” she explained.
Seeing the impact of social media platforms, specifically TikTok, on trends, she shared she believes it helps educate other people on different cultures. “Coming from Africa and moving here to find people listening to our music gave me a sense of belonging. It shows that people know more about us and are slowly erasing the worldly stereotypes they have. They start to see us as normal human beings as everybody else,” she shared.
Uniting Differences
Pop music right now is composed of multiple cultures coming together, Sibandze said. “It is seeing what we have in common through our differences. Collaborations have always been done in music but it’s more done now because of the impacts of social media,” she explained.
Cultural genres like Afrobeats and Amapiano have reshaped our listening habits and have reached nearly 4 billion global views in the last couple of years, says Highsnobiety website. According to the website, Afrobeats started in the 60s. “It is a genre which fuses American jazz and funk with West African musical styles linked to Ramadan traditions, and Highlife, a Ghanaian genre known for its jazzy horns and multiple guitars,” the site explains.
Further, the site says, Amapiano is a genre from the townships of South Africa. “It is a blend of house, jazz and Afrobeats into a unique laid-back groove. It features piano melodies, high pitched percussions, melodic baseline and thumping beats of techno,” the site continues.
The DEMODE Magazine website says pop music has the ability to adapt to changing tastes and trends. Further, the site says pop artists infuse diverse musical genres, cultures and styles infused with their own music to appeal to audiences all around the world. “Through the Latin rhythms of “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee or the Afrobeat-infused sounds of “One Dance” by Drake, pop music continuously reinvents itself, embracing new sounds and sensibilities while staying true to its core principles,” says the site.
Billboard says “Despacito” was the tipping point for Latin music globally. “When I look back, what really hits me is the fact that it opened a huge door for the non-Latin world to vibrate to Latin music,” Luis Fonsi told Billboard in 2019.
Believing Latin culture was represented well through a song, Marambio said she likes “Hips Don’t Lie” by Shakira. “It is because she managed to mix Colombian cumbia and salsa influences with pop and hip-hop, bringing our rhythms to a global audience without losing her identity,” she explained.
Collaborations towards change
Marambio said she loves to connect with people from around the world dancing to Latino music through collaborations. “But if an artist who is not part of the Latino community uses our culture without giving credit or collaborating with Latino artists, it feels as an appropriation,” she explained.
Sibandze said she noticed how misrepresentation is prevalent in the music industry. “It happened a lot back in the day. Now, sometimes when artists would start a music trend, as soon as they get recognized internationally, bigger people or companies would take credit,” she explained.
While African artists seem like they represent Africa as a whole, Sibandze said people must keep in mind that it is a more localized representation. “There’s a lot of African countries with diverse cultures. For example, Tyla comes from a specific place in South Africa. So, I would say she’s representing that place,” she explained.
Sibanze said she loves the collaboration between artists, but she feels that people would benefit if they listen to African music as a whole and not just the remix. “It’s good that Western artists want to collab but at the same time, I want people to listen to our music purely as it is and the culture it carries,” she explained.
Collaborations between artists bring stereotypes, Marambio said. “The world should know that Latino music is broad, and not everything is about salsa and reggaeton. We have music that expresses pain, resistance and bravery that is very emotional and an important part of culture,” she added.
Topping Africa website says collaborations between Western and African artists have increased in number. Further, the site says it resulted in chart-topping hits like Rema’s “Calm Down” featuring Selena Gomez, which garnered 564 million views in 2023, and Chris Brown’s “Sensational” featuring Davido and Lojay that reached 38 million global views, says the site.
Sibanze said she appreciates globally known artists who lift up locally known artists. “Selena Gomez recognized Rema and I just loved how she would talk about him in interviews, even saying how grateful she was to work with him,” she shared.
In a post from Selena Gomez’s official Instagram account, she expressed her appreciation for her and Rema’s collaboration on the song “Calm Down.” “This man has changed my life forever,” she shared, giving thanks to Rema’s decision to be part of the song.
Further, Sibanze said some people like listening to bigger or globally known artists and forget the local artists. “For example, Luis Fonsi’s ‘Despacito’ is only known by most people through the remix with Justin Bieber. I wish people would also give time to enjoy and appreciate the original artist,” she explained.
Sibandze said, African artists continue to make names for themselves globally. “They’re branding themselves and they’re just so proud of who they are, what they produce and where they come from. They make me so proud,” she shared.
Showing respect when featuring local artists includes, crediting producers openly, learning about history of the rhythms they use and performing in the local artist’s country and learning proper pronunciation, says Mariambo. She said if artists follow these, it inspires new artists and builds a connection with their target audience.
Social media as a pedestal
Social media and streaming services played crucial roles in spreading Afrobeats and Amapiano influences to the world, according to Topping Africa. “Platforms like TikTok have been influential, with dance challenges and viral trends propelling songs to international fame,” the site adds.
Topping Africa says the success of both genres has significance on African music industry. “Nigeria’s music sector saw 63 percent revenue increase from 2021 to 2022 and Spotify had a report on Nigerian artists generating over NGN11 billion in 2022 alone. Sub-Saharan Africa’s recorded music market grew by 24.7 percent in 2023, primarily driven by paid streaming revenues,” the site explains.
Los40 USA News website says in 2023, Latin music generated a record of $1.4 billion in revenue. “According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), a 16 percent increase from the previous year, accounting for 7.9 percent of total recorded music revenue in the U.S. In the first half of 2024, revenue reached $685 million, up 7 percent year-over-year,” says the site.
Further, there is a cultural shift in the rise of Latin music is the United States, says the website. According to the site, music icons like Shakira, J.Lo and Ricky Martin are key influences on the success of following artists like Bad Bunny, Karol G, Maluma and J Balvin.
Local sounds toward the future
In a study by Lourdes Moreno Cazalla, talking about Spanish-Language music as an unstable phenomenon in the United States, she said the music industry currently focuses on single releases and individual artists. She adds, new music releases are what fuels the industry. “Looking at this focus on new releases and certain artists, it’s very likely the numbers will go up even more in 2025, especially with the release of “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS” by Bad Bunny, which has taken over platforms and media,” she explains.
Keoni Porter, a sophomore majoring in biology from California, said he is seeing more collaborations between Western artists and Latin music artists in the United States. “I think because they see there’s a lot of popularity with collaborations especially in the U.S., because there’s a lot of Spanish speaking people here. I think it’s growing a lot and they’re seeing that there’s a lot more or demand for that,” he explained.
Juan Verela, CEO of Prisma Media and Director of LOS40 USA says, Latin music connects people across gender, age and background. “It is becoming a cultural bridge between Hispanic and many North American communities and many North American communities with shared roots and stories… it belongs to everyone who feels its emotion, rhythms and stories as their own,” he explains.
Local music artists who write their stories through songs show a glimpse of what is happening in their countries, Porter added. “We can see, through their music what’s going on in that country. In a way it connects us with them and we learn about them,” he explained.
Sharing an entire album that resonated with him, Porter said Bad Bunny’s new album not only raised awareness for what was happening to Puerto Rico but also highlighted Hawaii’s story. “The album is called ‘DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS’ and he has a song about Hawaii in there where he mentions that he does not want the same thing that happened to Hawaii, happen to
Puerto Rico.”
According to the NPR website, Bad Bunny’s album impacts Puerto Rico in numerous ways. “Bad Bunny makes a strong declaration in favor of independence over statehood while unfurling a warning about a future in which Puerto Rico no longer belongs to Puerto Ricans. He acknowledges the exodus of young people from the island in search for better opportunities and the resulting tragedies,” the site explains.
The whole Bad Bunny album is a wakeup call to focus on what is present in our lives and everything around us, Porter explained. “It is being more in tune or being more connected to what is going on in the moment or what is happening around us. We should be in the now, we should be enjoying the time we have with people and we should be aware of what’s going on around the world and its countries,” he continues.