The culture of the African diaspora has immersed nearly every aspect of modern American pop culture. Artists like Burna Boys, Tems, Davido, and Ayra Starr are among the biggest names in Afrobeats, R&B, and pop. Fans from across the globe fly out to visit ODUNDE Festival and Afrofuture Fest, aka ‘Afrochella.’ Chefs Tolu “Eros” Erogbogbo and Fatmata Binta cook up dishes that are so visibly appealing that we can almost smell them from our phone screens.

Below, we explore the multitude of ways that African culture has influenced pop culture.

While the sounds of Africa didn’t begin with pioneering Afrobeat musician Fela Kuti, he gave way to modern artists in our playlists today, like Ayra Starr, Burna Boy, Davido, and Tems. Emerging from the continent in the last decade is the subgenre Amapiano, a blend of kwaito and house music, which was popularized in the states partly from the 2023 Tyla single “Water.”

While African-focused music can be heard at any outdoor festival you visit, they’re highly popular at Philadelphia's Odunde Festival. During this one-day street festival, street markets and culture collide.

We often crave the most popular African food fare, like jollof rice, egusi soup, fufu and couscous, but chefs like Tolu Eros and Fatmata Binta make us crave an abundance of flavors from their homelands. Eros’ popular family-style arrangement even appeared in a Chase Sapphire campaign starring Michael B. Jordan.

Broadening our perspective of African art are South African painter Cinga Sampson, Zimbabwean painter Kudzanai-Violet Hwami, Nigerian photographer Kadara Enyeasi, and others whose works give us a closer look at life in the motherland.

While part of the international genre of television and film, the Netflix docuseries “African Queens,” the reality show “Young, Famous and African,” and the drama “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind” have all made it big in the States.

While African designers are aplenty, two who’ve become household names are Kenyan designer Anifa Mvuemba, founder of the women’s wear line Hanifa, and Rich Mnisi, founder of the luxury men’s brand of the same name. 

Classic Black American reads are abundant, but acclaimed authors like the late Chinua Achebe (“Things Fall Apart”), Oyinkan Braithwaite (“My Sister, the Serial Killer”), and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (“Americanah”) have written novels that also connect on a global level.