A high-energy style of emceeing featuring fast-paced, ad-libbed vocals is reshaping West Africa's music scene, elevating crowd energisers into sought-after performers within a sub-genre called Afrohype or lamba. Once viewed merely as background voiceover artists, hypemen have become central figures at nightlife venues, corporate gatherings, and major music festivals, capitalizing on the broader global success of Afrobeats.
Among the self-described evangelists and pioneers of this movement is 32-year-old Toby Shang, born Tobi Michael Adeyeye. His stage persona originated during a first-semester presentation in 2015 for his history degree cohort at the University of Lagos, where his engaging focus on the 16th-century Chinese Shang dynasty earned him his nickname. Drawing on skills honed as a high school band energiser and private tutor, Shang later turned viral catchphrases into the hit track Shedibalabala during his final university year. Even his mother now calls him Shang. Speaking near the university's lagoon waterfront where he early on hosted gatherings, Shang has since launched his own rave, released two EPs, and conducted four editions of his School of Hype, a one-day masterclass offering online mentorship that has trained emerging talent.
The commercial footprint of hyping has expanded dramatically in recent years. Hype performers are now ubiquitous at wedding after-parties, club raves, and corporate functions, with social media amplifying their reach. On Instagram, a teenage hype sensation regularly records 30-second customized birthday shout-outs requested by friends and relatives. As booking fees for leading recording artists spiked following the Covid-19 pandemic, event promoters increasingly turned to hypemen to headline occasions. Top performers in the sector can now command between 5 million and 8 million naira (£2,844 to £4,550) for a 30-minute to one-hour set.
Cultural commentators and critics note both the technical skill and controversial aspects of the art form. London-based doctor and cultural critic Dami Ajayi, who observed a performance at a party in Tirana, observed that hypemen possess the gift of the gab and fine mic control, using gaps between song lyrics for hilarious quips, though noting that many remarks are frontally risque and misogynistic. While the scene remains heavily male-dominated, female artists have established notable footholds. Yaoundé-based bikutsi artist Lady Ponce earned the title 100,000-volt lady for her intense stage presence. Other prominent female voices include Lagos radio presenter Melody "M.I.A" Adigo and the late Deborah "Hype Queen Baddy" Francis, a School of Hype graduate who passed away in September.
The performance tradition draws on centuries-old Black vocal heritage from both sides of the Atlantic, rooted in praise-singing and call-and-response dynamics. In West Africa, oral historians known as griots anchored these oral techniques, while in the United States, sacred folk songs known as negro spirituals created by enslaved African Americans carried similar vocal styles. These traditions eventually catalyzed the atalaku phenomenon in 1980s Kinshasa, deriving its name from the Kikongo phrase meaning look here, look at me.
Across regional music history, atalaku vocal styling gained international momentum through figures such as American gospel singer Kirk Franklin, Congolese rumba leader Koffi Olomide, and Congolese artist Awilo Longomba. The success of Olomide and Longomba around the turn of the century spurred Ivorian coupé-décalé musicians to adopt atalaku alongside farotement, the practice of ostentatiously spraying cash on performers or party guests. In 2003, Ivorian star DJ Arafat released a viral tribute featuring the line encouraging audiences to gallop like a horse, Tout le monde galope, kirikata kirikata, which directly influenced later tracks by Nigerian Afrobeats artists Flavour N'abania and Skales. The style gained such structural prominence in Côte d'Ivoire that state broadcaster RTI organized an atalaku talent hunt for several years, won in 2006 by Lili Djely, an Ivorian woman of Malian descent who delivered lyrics in a blend of French and Ivorian nouchi. In Ghana, the growth of the scene prompted the Ghana DJ Awards to create a dedicated category for MC/hypeman of the year.
Despite its commercial growth, the movement faces criticism from observers who regard hype as an unwelcome source of excessive noise or accuse it of glorifying fraudulent lifestyles and failing to adapt tempo or tone to specific venue settings. However, practitioners like Shang view their role as essential in breaking social rigidity on night-out floors. Shang explained that with people facing widespread daily stresses, they look for public figures offering encouragement, including assurances that financial prosperity is around the corner. He added that modern clubgoers often refrain from dancing to take phone videos or display luxury items like Birkin bags, noting that an effective hypeman draws out a childlike willingness to dance in crowd members of any age.
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Some observers, however, say hype is a nuisance, amping up noise levels at events or encouraging fraudulent lifestyles, and that many performers do not customise language and tempo to fit the event.
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Md. Kazi Bijoy is a dedicated tech enthusiast and content creator with a passion for digital innovation. With years of experience in the tech industry, he specializes in breaking down complex topics into easy-to-understand guides. When he isn’t writing, he explores the latest gadgets and researches emerging trends in the digital world.