Johannesburg - Afrobeats' impact on music has extended beyond West Africa's borders; it has also served as a platform for the export of food, dance, and languages.
This is according to this week’s update to Spotify’s Afrobeats: Journey of a Billion Streams site.
The digital music service said this cultural exportation is occurring as a result of the popularity of Afrobeats in mainstream international media.
Launched last month, Afrobeats’ beginnings in Ghana and Nigeria, development into the current sound, and fusion with other genres have all been covered on the website thus far.
Spotify said the rise in popularity of Afrobeats can be attributed to a number of elements, such as global collaborations, the influence of social media, the expansion of music streaming, and the African diaspora.
According to Spotify-commissioned research conducted by Kuvora, 28% of fans believe that international collaborations are one of the key factors driving the growth of Afrobeats.
The findings from the research and a deep-dive article into Afrobeats as a tool for cultural export are included in this week’s site update.
“West Africa might be the home of Afrobeats, but as this update proves, the reach is far beyond its borders, with fans ranging from East Africa to South Africa. Some of the top cities outside of Lagos where Afrobeats is getting the most streams are London, Paris, Abuja, Nairobi, Amsterdam, and Accra,“ said Spotify.
In South Africa, Afrobeats streams have gone up by 2 729% since 2018, and the two main cities, Johannesburg and Cape Town, have pretty similar tastes in Afrobeats.
Johannesburg and Cape Town Afrobeats lovers are both listening to People by Cameroonian-American singer Libianca, Rush by Nigerian singer Ayra Starr, Calm Down by Nigerian singer Rema with Selena Gomez, Last Last and For My Hand (featuring Ed Sheeran) by Nigerian superstar Burna Boy the most.
“Afrobeats’ journey has been fascinating to watch; the export story we have seen with the genre has been so encouraging, from Mexico to Saudi Arabia —African music is reaching new audiences. We know Afrobeats is going to continue shattering even more ceilings, and we are so excited to see how this genre has taken African culture to the world,“ said Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy, Spotify’s Managing Director for Sub-Saharan Africa.
The Star