Hailing from West Africa (Ghana in particular), azonto literally means ‘loose’ and is often used to describe someone from the ghetto. Made popular by rappers that use this kind of beat, azonto is also a style of dance. And no, I do not know how to azonto…

Emerging from Angola in the 1980s, kuduro is now going through a bit of a renaissance period. A lot of producers in Portugal are now embracing the style, pushing it forward and exporting it to the rest of Europe (kinda like a reverse-colonialism, seeing as Angola used to be a Portuguese colony). Some of my favourite producers like DJ Niggafox (yep) and DJ Marfox release on a label called Principe.

In Zulu, the definition of gqom is ‘drum’, which is quite appropriate as this style is percussion-driven. It’s raw, stripped back, hypnotic, and hard-hitting—I love it! From Durban in South Africa, gqom is considered the evolution of kwaito (another South African style of house music.) I like to think of it as the African techno.

As house music exploded in South African clubs in the early ’90s, the hottest tracks were referred to as ‘Kwai’, which literally means sick! Kwaito is slower and more melodic compared to gqom, but it’s still quite African-sounding, with elements of R&B and disco.

This has to be the weirdest and most wonderful thing I’ve ever heard. Oh, and the fastest! Champion of this sound is a producer by the name of Nozinja, who has taken South African folk music, substituted the acoustic instrumentation with synthesisers and drum machines and sped it up to a frenetic pace. Shit is crazy…