Unlike other major music markets of the world, the streaming culture didn’t become prevalent in Nigeria until the dawn of the new decade and a rise of a new generation of genre-flexible pop stars, who defied the rules and ushered in a new status quo into the mainstream and music industry at large. Spotify NG didn’t officially arrive in Nigeria until 2021 and since then, Nigerian acts have continued to take the world by storm. These are the most streamed albums on Spotify, by Nigerian artists.
10. Asake – Mr. Money With The Vibe (919.3m)
Nobody anticipated Asake’s disruptive ascent to Nigeria’s pop music zeitgest in 2022 and certainly nobody predicted the fact that he would cap off his amazing run with an album that would change the sounscape of the mainstream, for better and for worse. Four years later and the ripple effects of his staple Amapiano-fusion is still being felt and the classic status of the album has never been in less doubt.
9. Tems – Born In The Wild (919.4m)
Tems’ debut album arrived in the wake of her two-year long hiatus from music and the demand was higher than ever, with the music scene more primed than ever for a take over. With two EPs to her name at that stage, she had mastered Afro-R&B synergy in a way that connected with her home base and beyond, but the jury was still out on which direction the pendulum was gonna swing on the album and how that would impact its reception. Basically, she decided to do both.
8. Fireboy DML – Playboy (1.04b)
Fireboy DML was on the top of the world in 2022. A global smash hit with Peru, an Ed Sheeran co sign that saw him performing at Wembley and an electrifying BET performance where he made history as the first African to perform on the main stage of the event. It was the perfect time to release his most “commercial album” and while fans, as well as critics opine that it’s his least impressive thematically—the success of the album is undeniable.
7. Ckay – Ckay The First (1.07b)
Two years after its release and a decent tenure on Nigerian charts, Love Nwantiti took off overseas and exploded in the Western market—heralding a new standard for credible crossover Afrobeats hits. Naturally, Ckay’s stocks increased and so did the project that produced the amazing record too. It’s the only EP on this list, so that speaks volume about it’s resonance and overall quality.
6. Wizkid – Made In Lagos Deluxe (1.23b)
Wizkid’s magnus opus came after a slew of experimental global palate tinkering that didn’t always work. Till date, the consensus on SFTOS is mixed and the singles that ensued haven’t aged the best but MIL was the perfection of that formular that was unearthed on SFTOS. It also came at the perfect time when Wizkid’s detractors were at their loudest and his presence in the Nigerian mainstream had started to wane gradually.
5. Burna Boy – African Giant (1.31b)
This album is every bit as colossal as its title and the era-defining superstar who made it at the time it was released. It was 2019, a year after his disruptive resurgence on the home scene and Burna started to make a play for global dominance. Unlike his counterparts, who diluted their music to accomodate more foreign sensibilities—Burna doubled down on the elements of his native sound and that’s what makes the title all the more true and emboldening.
4. Ayra Starr – The Year I Turned 21 (1.38b)
After a stellar R&B debut album that certainly deserved more love than it got but managed to churn out a handful of hits nonetheless, Ayra’s transition into full blown pop star became the next obvious agenda and her sophomore album needed to deliver music that was true to her current status, without betraying everything she used to stand for and what initially endeared her to her fans and casuals alike. At the end of the day, it’s safe to say TYIT21 managed to pull that off, due to its success.
3. Omah Lay – Boy Alone Deluxe (1.39b)
Omah Lay’s debut album wasn’t a renowned success in early days, like most albums on this list and it needed a certain song off the original version—taking off about 7 months after release to finally get people into the project. By the time, the deluxe version arrived general audiences were already enamored with the groovy melancholy of Boy Alone, thus resulting in the minting of yet another smash hit from the deluxe. The album’s relentless longevity on the chart has ensured it spot here.
2. Burna Boy – Love, Damini (1.67b)
Since the turn of the new decade, Burna Boy established himself as the continent’s biggest star and for good reason too as he’s the one artiste on this list with two projects. If African Giant was him announcing himself to the world with music that’s unabashedly African and Twice As Tall was him championing African’s identity, as the self dubbed posterboy then Love, Damini was a celebration of his unparalleled success in the West and my word, what a blast it was.
1. Rema – Rave & Roses Ultra (3.39b)
Right from the jump, Rema called himself the future and declared in explicit terms that he’s aiming for the stars. Years later and it’s safe to say he’s living up to his own prophecy. Calm Down became the first Afrobeats song to cross a billion streams, but it wasn’t the sole hit on the LP that houses bangers like Charm, Are U There and Dirty. The success of these songs enabled R&R to attain the incredible feat it holds today in Nigerian music.
