Spotify lauds resurgence of R&B across Africa

Global online streaming platform, Spotify, has lauded the resurgence of Rhythm and Blues (R&B) genre across Africa.

Monica Kemoli-Savanne, Artist and Label Partnerships Manager, East Africa, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, in Lagos.

“Africa’s thirst for quality R&B is undeniable, with South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Zambia, and Uganda, registering top R&B listenership on Spotify.

“Even in francophone and lusophone markets like Côte d’Ivoire and Angola respectively, the presence of R&B is being felt across Sub-Saharan Africa.

“Despite the historical dominance of Afrobeats, Amapiano, Gengetone and others, in the African music landscape, an exciting transformation is unfolding.

“R&B undergoes a notable resurgence across the continent, with an average year on year growth of 133 per cent on Spotify,” she said.

Kemoli-Savanne noted that Kenya seems to be leading the charge in this resurgence.

She said, according to Spotify data over the last 90 days, the Tantalizers playlist got most of its streams from the country, and R&B ranks in the top five genres in Kenya.

She noted that across Sub-Sahara Africa, the Weekend, Chris Brown, SZA, Rihanna and Beyoncé were the artistes who the Spotify R&B listeners could not get enough from.

According to her, locally, artistes like Kenya’s Xenia Manasseh, Ghana’s Baaba J, South Africa’s Lloyiso and Nigeria’s Bloody Civillian, had the people in their feels.

“It is on the back of this sweeping growth that R&B collaborations between international icons and African artistes are becoming more commonplace than they were only a decade ago.

“From the mesmerising strains of WAIT FOR U by Drake, Future, and Tems to the captivating melodies of Monalisa by Chris Brown, Lojay, and Sarz, and Chris Brown tapping Wizkid for Call Me Everyday, Africa’s stars are shining bright on the world stage.

“And now, African singers are also connecting with one another to release global hits all on their own.” She said.

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According to Kemoli-Savanne, R&B in Africa is a testament to the adaptability and creativity of African musicians.

She said while R&B had traditionally been characterised by its soulful melodies and themes of love and relationships, African artistes were giving the genre a unique twist by infusing it with their own cultural and musical influences.

She disclosed “to leverage this growing popularity of the genre, Spotify had partnered with COLORSxSTUDIOS for a multi-day R&B writing camp in Nairobi, Kenya.”

According to her, the camp scheduled for the initial week of October will unite artistes, songwriters and music producers from Africa and beyond, under Spotify’s premier R&B playlist Tantalizers.