Afrobeats, the latest African music trend, has recently gained enormous popularity and won over listeners worldwide. The genre’s unique blend of traditional African rhythms, Highlife, hip-hop, Pop and R&B among others gives has been known to give a captivating appeal.
This beautiful music genre which started as a political movement, has over the years evolved to become a global music form loved and sought after by millions.
Afrobeat artistes have managed to successfully use the genre to address social issues such as poverty, inequality, love, and political oppression while inspiring a new generation of artistes across various genres to churn out beautiful Afrobeats-inspired creations often.
It is incredible to see how Afrobeats has impacted worldwide musical culture, giving African musicians a platform to present their music to the rest of the world.
Here are the top five biggest Afrobeats artistes ruling the genre in recent times.
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Davido
David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and record producer. Davido shot into the music scene in 2011 when he dropped his debut song, Dami Duro and has since become one of the most successful Afrobeats artistes in the world.
The 30 BG boss has several hit songs that fall under the Afrobeats genre including Blow My Mind featuring American singer Chris Brown, If and Unavailable among others.
The 2022 Headies Award winner for Digital Artiste of the Year has collaborated with several Afrobeats stars like Ghanaian dancehall and Afrobeats singer Stonebwoy, Nigerian heavyweights like Wizkid and Tiwa Savage among others. With the Afrobeats genre, the Aye hitmaker has achieved a lot in his career locally and internationally boasting of not only winning the Best International Act at the 2018 BET Awards among others.
Burna Boy
Nigerian-born Afrobeats superstar, Burna Boy, known in real life as Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu MFR is recognized for his strategic blend of Afrobeats with reggae, dancehall, hip-hop, and R&B. The Twice As Tall album maker rose to fame in 2012 with his single Like to Party, which became a huge song in his home country of Nigeria.
Since then, the 5-time BET Award winner for Best International Act has released seven albums with features from International Afrobeats artistes including Ed Sheeran, Stormzy, and Damian Marley. His distinctive sound and energetic performances make him one of the top Afrobeat artistes in the world.
King Promise
Known in real life as Gregory Bortey Newman, King Promise is a young Ghanaian singer and Afrobeats star who is marketing Ghana and Africa to the world through his songs.
Over the past five years, the CCTV crooner has constantly releases some powerful Afrobeats songs. The Headies Award winner for African Artiste of the Year released his debut Album As Promised in 2019 which has garnered over 24 Million streams on Spotify.
One of his latest hit songs, Terminator, keeps making waves on the global stage with a viral formation dance to compliment it.
Black Sherif
Known in real life as Mohammed Ismail Sherif, Black Sherif has been touted as the ‘new kid on the block’. The Second Sermon hitmaker is making a lot of strides with the Afrobeats genre.
The 2022 winner of the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards Artistes of The Year category came into the limelight in 2021 with his song First Sermon which he released in May of the same year.
This was immediately followed by Second Sermon in July that same year. He went on to release hit songs in March 2022 with his hit single Kwaku the Traveller reaching No.1 on the Ghanaian and Nigerian Apple Music charts. The Soja singer’s debut album The Villain I Never Was debuted at number 12 on the Billboard World Albums Chart marking his first appearance on the chart. The album was a blend of Afrobeats, Reggae and Highlife.
Rema
The young Nigerian singer, rapper, and Afrobeats star known in real life as Divine Ikubor, is the latest sensation in the Afrobeat scene. The 2023 MTV Video Music Award winner for the Best Afrobeats mixes his original African sound with trap, and pop to produce a unique version of the Afrobeats. Rema released his debut single Iron Man in 2020, and since then, has released some of the best Afrobeats songs such as Dumebi, Lady and Bad Commando.
Rema has collaborated with United States singer Selena Gomez, releasing a single, Calm Down, which debuted at No.1 on many charts worldwide. He released his album Rave & Roses in 2022. Although relatively new on the Afrobeats music, he sure will become a force to reckon with.