From a diversity of music genres to a powerful presence by African female artistes, the data on music trends in Kenya on streaming platforms in 2024 reveals some interesting dynamics in a very fragmented market.
The good news is that contemporary Kenyan artistes have made a significant impact domestically and globally during the year, amid the shifting trends and the emergence of a new generation of stars.
A perusal of the end-of-year charts reveals that the main music streaming markets in Africa are consuming the continent’s sounds, so the biggest names, especially afrobeats and amapiano artistes, are dominant across Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa.
The data also reveals the music preferences among the different demographics. According to Spotify Wrapped 2024, the annual compilation of listener data on the streaming platform, younger fans are driving the popularity of arbantone, raunchy party anthems which borrow heavily from classic dancehall beats.
The playlists of older Kenyans, on the contrary, are packed with the heartfelt gospel songs of popular artistes in the genre like Rwandan Israel Mbonyi and Christina Shusho from Tanzania.
The top-streamed Kenyan artiste on Spotify is Bien-Aime Alusa who has had a phenomenal year as a solo act during the current hiatus of his band, Sauti Sol. Bien’s success is due to the strength of his album Alusa Why Are You Topless and a string of collaborations with other artistes.
Bien dominates the top 10 streamed Kenyan tracks on Spotify in 2024 with five songs: Lifestyle, Inauma, Lifestyle, Ma Cherie, recorded with Congolese star Fally Ipupa and Extra Pressure (a collaboration with Bensoul).
The Apple Music has also released its end-of-year charts for different countries, based on streams between November 2023 and October 31, 2024. “Kenya’s charts reflected the country’s love of a variety of African sounds,” the platform says in notes accompanying the compilation. “At home, Sauti Sol alumnus Bien’s continued excursions showcased his versatility.”
The top streamed Kenyan song on Spotify in 2024 is Nakam Sai by Lil Maina and Sosa the Prodigy, a feel-good club banger that was released in March 2024 and is proof of how a new crop of arbantone artistes are resonating with fans of their generation.
Thanks to the success of that single, Lil Maina (official name Jeremy Maina), who turned 20 this year, is among the Top 5 streamed Kenyan artistes. The artiste who started by creating parody videos on YouTube, was a featured artiste on Nikita Kering’s single Tonight released in August 2024.
Lil Maina is the youngest act in the Top 10, ranked just behind Bien, hip hop group Wakadinali, Sauti Sol and Bensoul. Sauti Sol remains one of the top streamed artistes, despite their current hiatus, a testament to the popularity of their existing catalogue. The rest of the top streamed Kenyan artistes are Nyashinski, Okello Max, Chris Kaiga, Nvirii the Storyteller and Otile Brown.
“One of the key developments in 2024 is the star-studded success of female artistes, women who break boundaries, and support and increasingly inclusive and diverse future for African music,” says Phiona Okumu, Spotify’s Head of Music for Sub-Saharan Africa.
Twenty two-year-old Nigerian singer and songwriter, Ayra Starr, is the top streamed female artiste in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya, thanks to the popularity of her 2024 album The Year I Turned 21.
She was the first Nigerian female artiste to reach 20 million monthly listeners on Spotify and the Rolling Stone listed her album at No 53 of the best albums worldwide in 2024. The American magazine hailed her musical maturity that “aptly serves as a reminder of the emotional depth, logical prowess and enviable passion young people often possess.”
The album’s streams have been propelled by the love that fans have expressed for the songs including Commas, Rush, Last Heartbreak Song, a powerful R&B duet with US singer Giveon.
It has also been a phenomenal year for another Nigerian female star, Tems who is ranked by Spotify just behind Ayra Starr in Nigeria and Ghana, while in Kenya, she lies behind Ayra, SZA and Rihanna in the list of top female artists in 2024.
The 29-year-old has also been riding on the success of her debut album Born in The Wild released in June 2024, which has three nominations for the 67th Annual Grammy Awards in February next year. Her streaming numbers has also been driven by the album’s hit songs like the infectious Love Me Jeje and Me & U.
During the year, Tems became the first African singer to be awarded a Billboard Women in Music Award. While hailing the success of African female artistes in 2024, Spotify acknowledges that the data shows that there is still work to be done to see more representation of female artistes in the top streaming lists.
Ayra Starr, Tems and South African 2024 Grammy winner Tyla have kicked the doors open for more African female artistes to walk right into the room in 2025 and beyond.
