The Economics of Afrobeats

Dr. Adesoji Babalola’s innovative research on “The Economics of Afrobeats” investigates the economic dimensions of African and Black diasporic music industries, examining how Afrobeats operates at the intersection of cultural production, political expression and economic empowerment. Through this work, Dr. Babalola explores how Afrobeats serves simultaneously as a cultural archive, a site of decolonial expression, and an engine for amplifying marginalized voices, expanding theoretical perspectives and creating transformative economic opportunities. 

Dr. Babalola’s overall scholarship spans global hip hop, Black and Indigenous studies, African and Black popular culture, youth cultures, creative industries and linguistic anthropology. Over the past three years, he has delivered more than 10 peer-reviewed conference presentations and published several refereed articles. He has collaborated with leading scholars in Black and African studies, including Dr. Katherine McKittrick and Dr. Grace Adeniyi-Ogunyankin, and has engaged in community-driven projects at the intersections of art, justice and education. Notably, he co-organized Hope Behind Bars, a poetry workshop that provided mental well-being support to Black offenders at Bath Institution, Ont. and volunteered at Kingston Literacy Centre to help refugees improve their English and foster intercultural dialogue.

In recognition of his academic excellence, Dr. Babalola received several prestigious awards such as the Ontario Graduate Scholarship and the Morgan Brown Graduate Fellowship. He is an active member of numerous scholarly organizations, including the Canadian Association of African Studies (CAAS), Afrosonic Lab Group, the Revolutionary Demand for Happiness Research Group, the International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM-Canada) and the Canadian Anthropology Society (CASCA).