The second and third decades of the 21st century have witnessed an explosion of the Afrobeats sound and culture to heights even the most optimistic dreamers could not have imagined. Building on the background of the exceptional contributions of the likes of Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade, and Ebenezer Obey, this century’s artists have pushed the boundaries of musical creativity.
As this special genre continues to grow in leaps and bounds, it’s about time we celebrated those most critical to its success. We deliberated on the best of the highly talented bunch, using all-encompassing criteria, including commercial success, longevity, critical acclaim, cultural impact, and discography.
After a thorough period of deliberation, we are ready to present the list of the Top 20 Afrobeats stars of the 21st Century, celebrating how each of these remarkable musicians has propelled Afrobeats to the world.
But before we do that, we would love to share with you the selection criteria that we used to develop this elite list:
Now that you know our selection criteria, can you predict the talented individuals who will make our Top 20 Afrobeats Stars of the 21st Century?
