By Charles Mgbolu
Streaming giant Spotify says music from North Africa has grown significantly, by over 170%, between 2019 and 2022.
The data published in November includes streaming numbers from other exceptionally talented artists based in Middle Eastern countries.
In North Africa, some of the most streamed genres include signatures mostly from Egypt’s pop culture and the Amazigh native tunes of Morocco.
Spotify’s glowing tributes praised the rich diversity of sounds emanating from the North African region, stressing that it ‘’reflects the region’s creative vibrancy and the evolving tastes of today’s young Arab listeners.''
There has been a surge of new creators and a rising popularity of local hip-hop and independently produced music, driven largely by Gen-Z listeners and young artists.
These artists blend local and global sound templates, infused with a more fluid musical narrative that doesn’t box them into a single identity.
They may not be as famous as the Afrobeats giants of West and Southern Africa, but they have proven to be successful in their own rights.
In this list, we present some of the biggest stars from North Africa with millions of streams on multiple platforms.
Wegz
Wegz, real name is Ahmed Ali, is an Egyptian actor and trap singer. His song Dorak Gai, released in 2020, was his breakthrough song, reaching 24 million views on YouTube in two months.
He was the most streamed artist in 2022, taking that title for the third year in a row.
Although streaming figures for 2023 have yet to be released, three of his songs are among the 10 most streamed in Egypt, with Al-Bakht taking the number one spot, followed by B3ouda Ya Belady and Keify Keda coming in fourth and tenth, respectively.
ElGrandeToto
Taha Fahssi, 27, known by his stage name ElGrandeToto or Toto, is a Moroccan rapper who performs in Darija (Moroccan vernacular Arabic), French, and English.
He is the most-listened-to artist in the Middle East and North Africa region on Spotify in 2021, with more than 135 million streams in 178 countries and at least 3.1 million mostly listeners.
In 2022, Toto was the second most streamed artist after Wegz and has been smart to cross-pollinate his music with Nigerian music star Ckay in the hit single Love Nwantiti released in 2019 with 123 million views on YouTube, further boosting his popularity across the region.
Amr Diab
Amr Abdel Basset Abdel Azeez Diab is an Egyptian singer, composer and actor. He has established himself as a globally acclaimed recording artist and author.
Diab also has a mouth-watering record to his name. He is a Guinness World Record holder for bestselling Middle Eastern artist, a seven-time winner of the World Music Awards, a five-time winner of Platinum Records, and has won six African music awards.
In 2022, he became the first Egyptian superstar to cross 1 billion listens on the audio-streaming platform Anghami.
Marwan Mousa
Marwan Moussa is an Egyptian trap artist famous for his single Sheraton.
Mousa started music as a producer before he was convinced by a friend to start rapping on his beats.
In 2023, his single Lost Compass, released in June 2022, has been streamed over eight million times.
In January, he won awards for youth music in Africa, including Best African Rapper (North Africa) from the Africa Music Awards. He was also the third-most streamed artist on Spotify in 2022.
Tagne
Twenty seven year-old Tagne was born of a Cameroonian father and a Moroccan mother in Casablanca. He immersed himself in live performances from a young age.
In 2020, he became the first Moroccan artist to perform in Morocco. Tagne has over 600,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, with his single Ma Colombe: Moroccan Remix getting over 37 million streams across music platforms.
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