Apple Music recently announced a new way for its listeners to discover upcoming artists and music. It launched the Africa Rising playlist, providing a huge opportunity for new artists from the continent to showcase their talent to the world.
Every two months, the Apple editorial team will select an artist to amplify to its users. The artists’ music will be at the disposal of its users in 167 countries.
“All ears are on the continent—the global epicentre of hot and hyped new sounds. From the electric joy of Afrobeats and the rush of South African amapiano to new takes on pop, hip-hop, R&B, and more, African music is where it’s at,” Apple Music writes on the playlist.
This is not the first time Apple Music is investing in talent across Africa. In May, the music streaming platform launched its premier radio show in Africa titled “Africa Now Radio with Cuppy.”
Presented by Nigerian producer and DJ Cuppy, the show spotlights the latest African sounds including genres like afrobeat, rap, and kuduro music birthed from Angola.
Africa Rising’s First Artist
Omah Lay is the first African artist to be spotlighted in this Africa Rising Initiative. His track “Bad Influence” is the first of many on the new playlist. Lay also made it to Nigeria’s Top Ten singles chart with his EP, Get Layd.
The Africa Rising playlist features music in different genres from some of the continent’s new and emerging artists. Its current playlist is a curation of tracks from Nigeria’s Rema, Kenya’s Bensoul, South Africa’s Tellaman, and many more.
Below are the 5 songs currently topping the playlist:
1. Omah Lay – Bad Influence
2. Rema – Ginger Me
3. New York City Girl – Fireboy DML
4. Terri – Ojoro
5. Sha Sha – Tender Love ft. DJ Maphorisa, Kabza De Small
Also Watch: Our biggest afrobeats hits right now
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