Made for Kenya: Six Months Later, What are Kenyans Listening to on Spotify

Since its launch, Kenyans have gravitated towards popular local and global sounds on Spotify. Allowing for flavors that showcase local talent and unique genres that bring the East African country sounds to the world.

During its Made for Kenya event today, Spotify revealed that though Kenyans are listening to local genres like Gengetone, there is also huge interest in global artists such as Drake, Pop Smoke and The Weeknd. The Gengetone musical wave is not only gaining momentum amongst creators and listeners but building in popularity with its youthful urban sound.

This is a testament to Kenya’s musical influence across Africa, while pioneering a culture that varies in talent from a new and different sound.

Local artists making the list for top streamed artists by Kenyans include industry veteran Sauti Sol and R&B/Afropop artist  Nviiri The Storyteller.

To mark six months since launch, Spotify looked at the top streamed tracks, artists, and playlists by Kenyans. With fans from Nairobi to Eldoret and Mombasa to Nakuru streaming music via Spotify, it’s not surprising that Bien and Nviiri The Storyteller’s smash hit ‘Niko Sawa’ takes the top spot as the most-streamed track by Kenyans in the past six months.

“Spotify has always celebrated Africa’s abundance of talent and diversity. Now with Spotify’s presence across Africa, we will continue to use the power of the platform to amplify African creators to a global audience.

What we are seeing come out of Kenya is that the Gengetone genre, which draws sonic influences from dancehall, reggaeton, and Genge, is gaining popularity. This youth-driven sound of Kenya’s streets is growing and our flagship Gengetone Fire playlist shows up in the top 10 most streamed playlists on Spotify,”  says Phiona Okumu, Head of Music, Sub-Saharan Africa

Spotify continues to drive initiatives that support African creators including the promotion of key curated, flagship playlists such as African Heat, Made in Kenya, RADAR Africa, and most recently, Gengetone Fire, which has further driven the discovery and celebration of African influence.

Spotify also houses the Afrohub platform that promotes and brings to the surface culturally diverse music to users around the world.

Earlier this month, gengetone artiste Sylvia Saru, popularly known as Ssaru, was introduced as the latest artist to join its EQUAL Music Program. EQUAL is Spotify’s global initiative to cultivate gender equality in music and support female artists and podcast creators both locally and internationally.

The data also shows that big cities are dominating streaming habits with those streaming the most being in Nairobi and Mombasa. When it comes to genres beloved by streamers, Kenyans have a huge appetite for pop, trap, rap, and Southern hip hop with some Azontobeats and dance-pop mixed in.

The expansion of Premium Mini in Kenya also ensures Kenyans have greater access to the world’s largest audio streaming platform. The new bite-sized plan offers flexibility to suit anyone’s on-demand listening habits with a weekly subscription.

Spotify’s latest Premium Mini offering hits the sweet spot – giving listeners a subset of their favorite Premium features such as the full on-demand and ad-free music and podcast listening while having it available at a lower price by paying for it only when they need it.

As Spotify continues to give listeners across the continent streaming access to the best African and international audio continent, it will continue to drive education around Spotify for Artists, a powerful free tool that artists are encouraged to make use of to better understand and build their audience and gain insight on how to best promote themselves.

This, together with the expertise of Spotify’s music team and all the platform’s initiatives, will ensure that Spotify remains an instrumental vehicle for African creators looking to feature on a global stage.

Top 10 most-streamed tracks in Kenya

1. Niko Sawa
2. MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)
3. Levitating (feat. DaBaby)
4. Peaches (feat. Daniel Caesar & Giveon)
5. RAPSTAR
6. Kiss Me More (feat. SZA)
7. Up
8. Heartbreak Anniversary
9. Leave The Door Open
10. Astronaut In The Ocean

Top 10 most streamed artistes in Kenya

1. Drake
2. Sauti Sol
3. Justin Bieber
4. Pop Smoke
5. Juice WRLD
6. Burna Boy
7. The Weeknd
8. DaBaby
9. J. Cole
10. Travis Scott

Top 10 most streamed playlists in Kenya

1. Today’s Top Hits
2. RapCaviar
3. African Heat
4. Made In Kenya
5. Mood Booster
6. Mega Hit Mix
7. Hot Hits Kenya
8. Soft Pop Hits
9. Top Gaming Tracks
10. Gengetone Fire

Top 10 cities Kenyans are streaming from

1. Nairobi
2. Mombasa
3. Nakuru
4. Eldoret
5. Kisumu
6. Thika
7. Nyeri
8. Meru
9. Kiambu
10. Mandera

Related articles on Spotify:

1. Local voices are dominating the podcast scene on Spotify in Kenya
2. Spotify announces Ssaru as the latest addition to Its EQUAL Music Program
3. Shekhinah is the most streamed artiste according to Spotify
4. Sauti Sol grasp yet another musical accolade thanks to Spotify, Africa stand up!