#SpotifyWrapped: Spotify releases most streamed Kenyan artistes & songs of 2022

Posted Africanews360 December 1, 2022 6 Min Read

Updated 2022/12/02 at 9:00 AM

Local music consumption is showing no signs of slowing down, registering a 184% year-on-year increase from 2022

Spotify has today unveiled ‘Wrapped 2022’, an annual look back at what songs, artists, albums, and playlists people listened to throughout the year in Kenya.

This year has seen a lot of changes, in different sectors from Kenya getting a new government, sports both in athletics and football as well as in the entertainment sector.

But then musically, what sounds kept Kenyans going through all of 2022’s adventures? Is Drake reigning supreme again this year, or has another artist surpassed him?

According to Spotify’s artist and label partnerships manager for East Africa, Monica Kemoli-Savanne, there has been an increase in local content consumption unlike was the case in the former years although the preference for international content remains prevalent.

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“We are so encouraged by the trends we are seeing on Spotify in Kenya this year, especially when it comes to the increase in local music consumption. This upward trend means that Kenyan creatives can find inspiration to create more content that resonates with local music lovers. Beyond that, this year’s Wrapped paints a very interesting picture of what music moves Kenyans,” said Monica Kemoli-Savanne.

Let’s have a look at the trends.

Most Streamed Artistes

Drake clinches the top spot once more as the most streamed artist in Kenya for the second year in a row, followed by Nigeria’s Burna Boy, who is the only African artist in the top five most streamed artists locally.

RnB singer Chris Brown, The Weekend, and Future round up the top five streamed artistes in Kenya. Incidentally, all these artists released albums in 2022, which likely accounts for their high streams among Kenyans

Most Streamed Song

Unlike its name, ‘Last Last‘ by Burna Boy is not coming in last, the hit track instead takes up the top spot making it the most streamed song in Kenya in 2022.

Rema’s ‘Calm Down’ which was released in February, had a strong streaming year, landing it second place in the race for top streamed songs in Kenya in 2022.

‘Finesse’ by Pheelz, featuring BNXN fka Buju comes in third, with Oxlade’s ‘Kulosa – a Colors Show’ in fourth place. Both these songs are huge on social media, so it’s not surprising that this translates into streams.

Lojay and Sarz’ collaboration on ‘Monalisa’ is paying off, making it the fifth most-streamed song in Kenya.

Local Music Consumption

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Local music consumption shows no signs of slowing down, with a year-on-year increase of 184% from 2022, an encouraging figure indicating that Kenyans are listening to local music.

For the second time in a row, Sauti Sol is the most streamed local artist or group, followed by Wakadinali. Buruklyn Boyz, who are part of Spotify’s RADAR Africa program, are the third most streamed Kenyan act in Kenya this year. Otile Brown is the fourth most streamed Kenyan artist, down one spot from last year, with Nyashinski rounding out the top five.

According to the most recent Spotify Wrapped data, Kenyans love a good party, so it’s no surprise that Friday is the day when they stream the most music, followed by Saturday.

The music consumption continues, with ‘Kishash’ by LilMaina being the most streamed Kenyan song, followed by ‘Geri Inengi’ by Wakadinali featuring Sir Bwoy, another party banger. Bien and Aaron Rimbui’s ‘Mbwe Mbwe’ comes in third, followed by Nyashinki’s ‘Properly’, which features Femi One. Bien makes another top stream entry with his most recent single, ‘Inauma‘, rounding out the top five Kenyan songs.