African-Focused Approaches to Teaching African Popular Music in Western Classrooms

African musicians often fuse “foreign” and local musical materials. Thus, when listening to African popular music, one may recognize certain allusions, e.g., the use of “non-African” instrumentation or musical nuances that call “foreign” genres to mind. Pedagogical approaches grounded in this mode of listening-what I call “origin listening”-train students in the acts and arts of listening to African musicians but hearing “foreign” allusions. At what point does a “foreign” material become “local”? How can we teach African popular music to celebrate the “local”? How does the concept of indigenization challenge the inherent power interplay or (re)shape our understanding of concepts like “crossover,” “exchange,” and “appropriation”? Using Fela Kuti as a case study, this chapter addresses the implications of allusive listening practice, exploring its pedagogical potential to engender robust approaches to teaching African popular music in ways that place African musicians at the center, embrace indigeneity, and emphasize ingenuity.