The Best African Artists of 2025 According to Apple Music Replay

Apple Music Replay ’25 dropped yesterday, and as expected, Nigerian and African music fans worldwide immediately stopped whatever they were doing (including actual work) to check whether their top song was something deep and meaningful or “WHY LOVE” that they’ve played 137 times in one week sometime this year.

Beyond the personal stats we all love, Apple’s year-end charts revealed something far more interesting: African artists are no longer the underdogs. These artists are now in multiple countries’ top 5s and top 10s.

From Afrobeat to Amapiano to East African pop, here’s how your favorite African artists performed across board or Replay ’25.

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1. Nigeria: Asake, Wizkid, Davido: The New ‘Big 3’?

Asake, Wizkid, and Davido rotated positions on the Nigerian charts, with the top songs from the country shared between them.

• Asake’s “WHY LOVE” sits comfortably at No. 1. Not a surprise to me.
• Wizkid’s “Kese (Dance)” and Davido’s “Funds” featuring ODUMODUBLVCK & Chike follow closely.
• Add two more tag-team collaborations (”MMS” and “With You”) and that’s the top five list.

On albums, Wizkid’s “Morayo” sits at No. 1, with Davido’s “5ive” and Asake’s “Lungu Boy” rounding out a very familiar top three.

Top artists were Wizkid, Burna Boy, and Asake. BNXN and Seyi Vibez slide in to remind everyone the trenches still have streaming power too.

2. South Africa: Amapiano Won’t Let It Go

If Nigeria is dominated by Afrobeat royalty, South Africa is under the spiritual leadership of Kelvin Momo, Kabza De Small, and DJ Maphorisa.

The Top Songs list is a full amapiano shutdown: “Abantwana Bakho”, “Uzizwa Kanjan”, “Bo Gogo”, and more.

Kelvin Momo appears everywhere, also topping Albums with Ntsako and again taking spots No. 3 and No. 4. Even on the Top Artists ranking, Drake manages to sneak in at No. 1 (as usual), but Amapiano generals fill out the rest.

3. Ghana: Black Sherif was the Entire Chart

No debates. No arguments. Black Sherif dominated Ghana’s Replay. Four out of the top five songs are his: “Sacrifice,” “Soma Obi,” “Rebel Music,” and “Top of the Morning.”

His album IRON BOY sits at No. 1, and he still has spots in the lower ranks with The Villain I Never Was.

If any country on Replay ’25 had a “star of the year,” Ghana’s crown belongs to one man. He still slid Davido into No. 5 the way Nigerians always manage to sneak into Ghanaian lists.

4. Kenya: Bien & Marioo Executed a Cross-Country Link-Up

One of the biggest surprises this year is how Kenyan audiences embraced Tanzanian–Kenyan collaborations. Marioo & Bien’s “Nairobi” topped both Kenya and Tanzania.

Kendrick Lamar’s “Luther” broke into the Kenyan top 5 too; because Kenya will always have room for a philosophical bop.

5. Tanziania: Marioo Ran the Show 

Top songs? Marioo. Top albums? Marioo. Top musical conversations? Probably Marioo. Even when he’s not No. 1, he’s featuring on No. 2.

If Ghana belonged to Black Sherif, Tanzania was Marioo Nation.

Across Africa: Afrobeats and Amapiano Hit Global Relevance

Beyond country charts, Replay ’25’s global stats revealed something bigger:

On Top 100: Shazam, MOLIY’s “Shake It To The Max (FLY) Remix” was one of the most identified songs in the world. This stat is further proof that African hits now travel fast.

African artists were also present across Apple’s Global Lyrics, Global Radio, and Sing categories. In short, Africa was everywhere.

The Global Charts Still Belong to Pop But Africa Is Pushing Through

While ROSÉ, Bruno Mars, Billie Eilish, and Kendrick Lamar monopolised the global top 5 across charts, African artists still slipped in via Shazam and cross-regional playlists.

As streaming becomes more localised, the African music ecosystem is standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the global heavyweights. Our music sometimes outperforms theirs in engagement, discovery, and virality.

On a final note, Replay ‘25 confirms the obvious. Afrobeats is not slowing down. Amapiano is not taking a break. Afropop is also still popping. And everyone is listening.

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