Hilarious quips and ‘100,000-volt’ energy: the hypemen (and women) redefining Afrobeats music
The Afrobeats music scene is seeing the rise of 'hypemen' and 'hypewomen,' performers who use high-energy ad-libs and crowd engagement to energize raves and events. Figures like Toby Shang have turned this sub-genre, known as Afrohype, into a professionalized career path with masterclasses and viral success.
Why it matters
This trend illustrates the evolution of African pop culture and the influence of digital platforms like TikTok in creating new, localized entertainment roles that blend traditional performance with modern music production.
Toby Shang, one of the leading lights of the growing Afrohype genre. Style of emceeing based on high-octane, ad-libbed vocals has flourished thanks to its unique way of captivating crowds
Prefer the Guardian on Google F or the 2015 freshmen cohort of the history degree programme at the University of Lagos, their classmate’s first-semester presentation was so captivating that they began calling him Toby Shang, after the 16th-century Chinese dynasty he had focused on.
His crowd engagement that day had been harnessed from his high school days as a ginger-man (energiser) in a three-man band and as a private tutor. By his final year at university, his viral catchphrases and infectious energy had resulted in a hit song, Shedibalabala. Today, he is one of the self-acclaimed “evangelists and pioneers” in the Afrobeats sub-genre some are now calling Afrohype or lamba.
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