African popular music, like
African traditional music, is vast and varied. Most contemporary genres of African popular music build on cross-pollination with western popular music. Many
genres of popular music like
blues,
jazz,
salsa,
zouk, and
rumba derive to varying degrees on musical traditions from Africa, taken to the Americas by African slaves. These rhythms and sounds have subsequently been adapted by newer genres like
rock, and
rhythm and blues. Likewise, African popular music has adopted elements, particularly the musical instruments and
recording studio techniques of western music.