The Gender Wealth Gap in America's Afrobeats Scene

By
Columbia ISSG
September 30, 2024

Analyzing the factors that have led Afrobeats giants Tiwa Savage and Burna Boy to have different career trajectories and earnings, in her article, "Gender Wealth Gap in the USA's Afrobeats Scene: The Case of Tiwa Savage and Burna Boy," Professor Ruth Opara establishes how gender has affected the success of female Afrobeats musicians and enabled the stardom of male Afrobeats musicians. Opara's investigation reveals how capitalism, sociopolitical issues, and colorism have all contributed to the wealth disparity between male and female Afrobeats artists.

Ruth Opara’s (Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Music, Ethnomusicology) research centers on African and African diasporic music and knowledge production, specifically music and decolonial discourse, women in music, music and gender, and African music and transnational encounters. As a practitioner, a teacher, and a scholar who has lived and taught on the African continent and the diaspora, Ruth successfully straddles both worlds' musical cultures.