The term “stan” entered pop culture through Eminem’s 2000 song Stan, which narrated the tale of an obsessed fan whose affection for the rapper spiralled into a sinister trajectory. It over time morphed to mean very zealous and committed fans who repay their favorite artists in a rather undying fashion. “Stan culture” has evolved to become a power through which fans do not just enjoy music, but one representing active championship of one’s idols and defending them online, and also building communities of people bound by a shared passion.
In Afrobeats, stan culture finds powerful roots that have helped in the global rise of the genre.
Afrobeats in itself is a genre born out of the marriage between African rhythms and modern styles like hip-hop, R&B, and reggae; over the last decade, it has seen immense growth. In this spread beyond the shores of Africa, stan culture has played a very important role in increasing its global reach. Fans act as what one would call an unofficial marketing team, most especially on social media, where they promote their favorite artists and share new, thrilling releases until they go viral.
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While stan culture certainly is ubiquitous across a multitude of genres, afrobeats stans are a different thing altogether. They are very dedicated and will go to great lengths to ensure that their artist’s music is streamed and discussed in its totality worldwide. But more than just the promotion of the music, stan culture is also about defending the artist — often through online altercations — to protect them from potential criticism.
Social media platforms such as X (formerly called Twitter), Instagram, and TikTok have been intrinsic to afrobeats’ rise, providing fans and artists with direct lines of communication. It also supplied an outlet for stans to mobilize and spread the frenzy. Be it hashtag wars to get their artist trending or arranging streaming parties to make sure that the songs they love make the charts, afrobeats stans leverage social media to put their artists on the map.
Not everyone, however, is quite as positive about the impact of social media. According to Tomide Marv, a culture writer at Zikoko, while he truly is in love with the authenticity of the music, social media has, in his eyes, made stan culture less enjoyable. “Social media makes me hate and distance myself from stan conversations,” he says. What has been tiring for Marv are the online wars between different stan groups, which, to him, take away from what really should be a celebration of music.
Stan culture thrives because of the emotional connection fans have with the music. Didara, a medical student and music lover, feels deeply about the work of Afrobeats artists like Așa and Omah Lay. For him, the purity of the way that Așa approached music — being unproblematic, staying away from controversies — speaks loudly to her. “She is just here to make good music,” he says.
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When Omah Lay released his Purple album, (Boy Alone). Didara became an advocate for the project, sharing it with friends. “I carried it on my head,” he reminisces, as his attachment to the music made everyone think that he was paid to overhype the music. Passion like this is situated at the very core of stan culture—fans taking it upon themselves to make sure everyone knows about the music touching them.
For artists, this core base of stans does wonders in their career. Stans are not just celebrants, and sometimes they act like additional PR machinery promo and making sure that their faves are seen everywhere on the internet. The power of stan culture became undeniable with Wizkid’s Made in Lagos and Burna Boy’s Twice As Tall dominating the charts and conversations globally. These dedicated fan bases were instrumental in making sure these projects didn’t just do well locally, but found international acclaim.
Culture writer and researcher Tiléwa Kazeem cites this phenomenon, stating that the success of artists like Tyla would not have been possible without the stans at big platforms like the Grammys. “Tyla’s win was a memorable moment,” he says, even though he distances himself from the intense dynamics of stan culture.
He acknowledged that stan culture has become more volatile, just like everything else, since social media became prominent. The constant overdose of opinions and arguments, coupled with a sprinkle of toxicity, causes some fans to be less willing to openly proclaim their support for artists nowadays. This is part of a bigger issue with how stan culture sometimes blurs the line between passionate support and an unhealthy obsession.
Though Stan culture undoubtedly has its positives, it comes hand in hand with a dark underbelly. Some fans take their devotion to extreme lengths, resulting in highly toxic behavior. Online bullying, harassment, and gatekeeping are characteristics related to stan circles where the rival fanbases wage all-out wars on whose artist is better. It is that kind of toxicity that turns off more casual listeners and occasionally harms the image of an artist.
As afrobeats gets more global it’s going to have a probably equally dominant stan culture. With new stars like Rema, Tems, Omah Lay and Ayra Starr Making the scene, fans are sure to keep having a big say on the Afrobeats global dialogue. Though the toxicity of stan culture is questionable, the general effect on the growth cannot be denied.
Ultimately, afrobeats’ stan culture is not different from this same love and fandom that fans pledge to their artists. The culture will continue to grow day by day, just like the genre, and the whole world will keep watching afrobeats take its rightful position across the world.
