Popular American music magazine, Billboard, has just released its first-ever list of the 50 Best Afrobeats Songs of All Time — and Nigerian music stars totally took over the list!
The list was shared bit by bit and finally completed on August 19. It celebrates Afrobeats legends, hitmakers, and today’s top stars. Just so you know, Afrobeats (with an “s”) is not the same as the old-school Afrobeat created by Fela Kuti. Afrobeats is a modern mix of highlife, hip-hop, R&B, dancehall, and African drums and rhythms. It started growing in the 2000s and has now become Nigeria’s biggest music export to the world.
According to Billboard, they didn’t choose songs just because they were popular. The team picked songs based on how much they influenced the culture, how they sound, and how well they performed commercially. Also, they allowed only three songs per artist on the list. Music experts from Nigeria, the U.S., and the U.K. helped choose the songs.
At Number 1 on the list is 2Face Idibia’s (now 2Baba) timeless love song, “African Queen”. Billboard said it was a special song that helped shine a light on Afrobeats around the world.
Wizkid is the only artist with two songs in the top 10. His classic hit “Ojuelegba” is at number 2, and his global banger “Essence” (featuring Tems) is at number 5.
Here are the Top 5 Afrobeats songs of all time, according to Billboard:
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African Queen – 2Baba
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Ojuelegba – Wizkid
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Nwa Baby (Ashawo Remix) – Flavour
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Calm Down – Rema
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Essence – Wizkid ft. Tems
The rest of the top 10 includes more big names:
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CKay – Love Nwantiti
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D’banj – Oliver Twist
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Davido – Fall
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Burna Boy – Ye
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P-Square ft. Akon – Chop My Money (Remix)
This list shows how far Nigerian music has come and how our stars are making waves across the world!
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