The Best of Music
MEDIAPUNCH INC/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
Africa is the beating heart of global music! Urban rhythms, rap, fusion, traditional sounds, superstars and rising stars, including those from the diaspora. Here's our selection of fifteen African artists who have conquered the charts, our ears and our hearts!
With his trailblazing blends of Afrobeats, hip-hop, reggae and R&B, Burna Boy has been taking the music world by storm since his debut album L.I.F.E. in 2013. He was born Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu in Port Harcourt on 2 July 1991, his father a company manager, his mother a translator.
Born in Ouidah on 14 July 1960, Angélique Kidjo is more than a legend: she is the incandescent soul of world music. Speaking and singing in five languages, she's rooted in Beninese rhythms and open to world music, bringing jazz, funk, gospel and Afropop together with jubilant freedom.
Born on 1 May 2000 in Benin City, 25-year-old Divine Edukor already has 30 million monthly listeners on Spotify and over 1.7 billion streams since the release of his first self-produced EP in 2019 and his viral hit ‘Dumebi’.
Born in Johannesburg in 2002, Tyla Laura Seethal began making a name for herself in 2023 as the new voice of ‘popiano’, a clever mix of amapiano, R&B and Afrobeats.
Aya Nakamura is the most listened to French pop star in the world. In February, her single ‘Djadja’ surpassed a billion views on YouTube.
Born Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun in 1990 in Lagos, Wizkid was just 11 when he started out. He exploded onto the scene in 2011 with Superstar (‘Holla at Your Boy’).
David Adedeji Adeleke was born in Atlanta in 1992 and grew up in Lagos. He made his mark as a global Afropop star in 2011 with his single ‘Dami Duro’.
Born in Bamako in 1968, Oumou Sangaré draws on traditional songs from southern Mali to convey a powerful message against polygamy and forced marriages.
The recent passing of Amadou only heightens the monumental status of this duo, who made us dance and cry.