Sauti Sol the most streamed Kenyan group on Spotify
Kenya’s Sauti Sol continues to lead the pack as the most-streamed musical group in Kenya.
This is according to the Spotify Wrapped data recently released by the music streaming platform.
They were followed by Sol Generations Records’ Nviiri The Storyteller, with Otile Brown taking the third position, then Nyashinski, and finally the other Sol Records artist, Bensoul.
Spotify was launched in more than 40 new markets around the continent, including Kenya.
“365 days in, we’re already seeing Kenyan music lovers discovering more music, local artists finding a megaphone for their work, and Kenyan genres getting exported across the globe. As Kenyans have become more familiar with Spotify, they’ve used the platform more – and broadened their tastes. Since launch, the average number of artists streamed per user has grown by 17 percent,” said Spotify.
There has been a 25 percent increase in the number of Kenyan artists, and 8,730 songs were added to the platform by creators.
Niko Sawa by Nviiri The Storyteller and Bien is the most streamed Kenyan song. Nikita Kering’s Ex is second, a huge feat for the 19-year-old star who is also the only woman in the top ten.
An ode to the city’s dating scene, Nairobi by Bensoul comes in third. H_art the Band’s My Jaber (Friday) is fourth, followed by Dusuma by Otile Brown.
Local artists have found a megaphone for their work, and the top exported local artists are Sauti Sol, followed by Jeff Kaale, then Otile Brown. Ayub Ogada is the fourth top exported local artist and Nviiri The Storyteller rounds off the top five.
Eight out of the ten songs exported are all collaborations, probably due to the combination of two different fan bases. Wanani Remix by Bahati, Benzema, Mejja, Odi Wa Muranga and Petra Ssaru is the top exported song, with most of the plays coming in from the USA.
Bensoul’s collaboration with Mejja, Nviiri The Storyteller and Sauti Sol in Nairobi puts it in second place. It is followed by Melanin, a collaboration between Sauti Sol and Patoranking.
Ayub Ogada’s Kothbiro is fourth and the only non-collaboration song in the top five. Extravaganza, the song by Sauti Sol and featuring Bensoul, Crystal Asige, Kaskazini and Nviiri The Storyteller, is fifth.
The countries where the top five exported songs were most-streamed are the USA, UK, Canada in that order, with the exception of Ayub Ogada’s Kothbiro where it was most streamed in USA, Germany then Netherlands.
The top emerging artist is Wanavokali, and the top local genre is Gengetone.