Nairobi News

Forbes Africa last week released the list of Africa’s top 20 musicians and no Kenyan was on it.

South African and Nigerian artists dominated the list with only Tanzanian Superstars Diamond Platnumz and Rayvanny being the only East African exports featured on the list. The Multi-talented Fally Ipupa hailing from Congo is the only artist from Central Africa.

According to a feature story on the Forbes Africa website, said that these creators have taken everything from Amapiano to Afrobeats and told the African growth story, in decibels that have made the world sit up.

“Even as more Grammy Awards find a home on the continent, these top 20 musical artists are on the track to deliver more,” said Forbes.

Adding: “Afrobeats has grown significantly on Spotify. In South Africa, Amapiano started as an underground genre where music was shared amongst artists and producers via applications such as WhatsApp.”

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Legends Angelique Kidjo and Yvonne Chaka Chaka made the list among the new generation of artists.

Nigeria and South Africa dominated the list with globally recognised musicians such as Burna Boy, Black Coffee, Cassper Nyovest, Wizkid, Tiwa Savage, Davido, Master KG, and more.

“The music emanating out of Africa today is record-breaking in every sense. With the new sounds, there have been new pathways to success for African artists,” the magazine said of the musicians on the list.

According to Forbes Africa, digital music streaming (Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube) in all regions seems to be on an upward curve.

In South Africa, revenues are set to increase at a 20.1% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to a total of R815 million ($49.9 million) in 2023.

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Revenue in Nigeria is also set to “rise” by $17.5 million and in Kenya by $5.2 million.

“Starting off in 2017, we saw South Africa leading the way in terms of digital music streaming revenue as compared to Kenya and Nigeria.

2020 then saw Nigeria’s total streaming revenue beat that of South Africa and is forecasted to grow exponentially until 2026 with South Africa and Kenya continuing at a steady growth rate,” said Alinah Motaung, PwC South Africa Entertainment.

Adding: “It is clear that African music is getting the recognition it deserves and the continent’s distinctive sounds are taking the world by storm, this includes Amapiano, Afropop, Afrobeat, Gengetone, and more.”

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Here are the top 20 artists from across Africa (unranked and in no particular order).
• Angélique Kidjo (Benin)
• Tiwa Savage (Nigeria)
• Davido (Nigeria)
• Master KG (South Africa)
• Major League DJz (South Africa)
• Nasty C (South Africa)
• Yvonne Chaka Chaka (South Africa)
• Wizkid (Nigeria)
• KDDO (Nigeria)
• Burna Boy (Nigeria)
• Rayvanny (Tanzania)
• Diamond Platnumz (Tanzania)
• Fally Ipupa (Congo)
• DJ Maphorisa (South Africa)
• Lira (South Africa)
• Mr. Eazy (Nigeria)
• 2Face Idibia/2Baba (Nigeria)
• Cassper Nyovest (South Africa)
• Lebo M (South Africa)
• Black Coffee (South Africa)

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