Afrobeats enjoyed another year of expanding global acclaim. The continued success of the genre has a lot to do with these brilliant creatives. We present to you the artistes of the year 2024.
Victony
The year 2024 was monumental for Victony’s career. It marked the release of his long-awaited debut album STUBBORN, and when he delivered, it was exceptional and amazing with hit songs like “Risk,” “Sunday School,” and more.
Ayra Starr
Ayra Starr had an extraordinary 2024 with her music. From her successful sophomore album, The Year I Turned 21, to going on tour with the legendary Coldplay and performing on stages all around the world, her year was spectacular.
Tems
2024 was also a fantastic year for Tems. She released her debut album, one of the most anticipated albums globally, Born in the Wild. The album birthed hits such as “Burning,” “Love Me Jeje,” “Wickedest,” and a successful sold-out world tour. 2024 was indeed her year.
Asake
Asake easily fit into the artist of the year category after dropping his third studio album, Lungu Boy, which featured surprising collaborations like “Active” featuring superstar rapper Travis Scott and the Grammy-nominated “MMS” featuring legendary Nigerian artist Wizkid. Asake had a remarkable 2024 with his music and world tour with his Lungu theme and more.
Wizkid
After the trials and tribulations Wizkid faced in 2023 with his mother’s passing, he channeled his energy, pain, and memories to create a beautiful body of work, Morayo, the album title dedicated to his mother. This body of work stands as a unique masterpiece, combining every musical phase we have seen Wizkid through, from the “Superstar” phase, “Ayo” phase, “Sound from the Other Side” phase, “Made in Lagos” and more. This puts Wizkid up there as one of the artists of the year 2024 with a solid collection of amazing songs.
Ayo Maff
2024 was a fantastic year for Ayo Maff. From introducing many of us to his music to getting his first hit with “Dealer,” I don’t think Ayo Maff would ever forget this year. Not to mention his successful EP 7 DAYS with hit songs like “Are You There” and more.
Seyi Vibez
Playing it in his strategic way, Seyi Vibez ran the year with his tunes and projects as expected. He anchored his team’s joint project, Vibez Incorporation Mixtape, Vol 1, which brought forth hit songs like “Instagram” featuring Seyi himself. The project also introduced us to new artists like Muyeez, TML Vibez, and Billion Solar.
Tyla
It was a brilliant year for the South African superstar who got the world singing about water, word for word. She released her debut self-titled album TYLA, which became the first debut album of 2024 to be certified by @RIAA. She also won the Best New Artist award at the BET Awards 2024 and many more accolades. Attaining all this in her debut era is just amazing to see.
Odeal
As a certified hitmaker, Odeal swept us off our feet with memorable songs such as “Soh Soh,” which was literally everywhere. That song alone is enough to put him among the artists of the year. Many got to know Odeal more this year from his viral song and his solid projects (Sunday At Zuri’s and Lustropolis)
Qing Madi
2024 was a stellar year for the young superstar Qing Madi. We saw her do amazing things with her music, releasing a deluxe edition of her EP Qing Madi (Deluxe), featuring American singer Chlöe Bailey on the remix of her hit song “Vision,” lots of live performances and shows, gaining 90 million streams this year on Spotify alone, and already teasing her debut album, I Am The Blueprint, expected to be released late January of 2025.
Fola
Among the new emerging artists introduced to us in 2024, Fola has been phenomenal with his music, deeply rooted in emotional lyricism and sharing his feelings. His hit song ‘Alone’ kept him in the spotlight, and Having signed with Bella Shmurda’s record label Dangbana Republik, we got an impressive project alongside.
Young Jonn
A standout year for the producer-turned-artist. Since his last EP, we all knew Young Jonn was destined for greatness as a multi-talented artist. His debut album, Jiggy Forever, released in 2024, was filled with hits back to back, showcasing his talent in music and production.
Llona
A year of reflection and fame for Llona. His name was heard all over, and his story was told in his debut album, Homeless, a body of work that was not just a musical masterpiece but a project to which many could relate.
Rema
From bridging the gap in the sound of music coming from West Africa with his sophomore album HEIS to mad-hitting tracks like “Ozeba” and “Benin Boys,” Rema really outdid himself, making him one of the significant artists of the year.
