Kenyan Spotify Wrapped 2023: Wakadinali crush Sauti Sol, women dominate podcasts

Spotify has unveiled its Wrapped 2023 data, providing insights into the music trends and preferences of Kenyan listeners throughout the year.

• Top Streaming Day and Hour: Saturdays and 4 pm emerged as the most popular streaming day and hour, respectively, reflecting Kenyans’ love for music-filled weekends and lively afternoons.

• Genre and Artist Preferences: Hip hop remained the most popular genre, with Drake once again topping the list as the most streamed artist for the third consecutive year. Afrobeats also made a strong showing, with Darassa and Bien’s collaboration “No Body” being the only exception among the top streamed tracks.

• Virality and R&B Goodness: Kinoti’s “Nitangoja” and V-Be and Ashley Music’s “Sasa Hivi” were among the most viral and R&B-loved tracks, respectively.

• Female Artists’ Rise: Female artists saw a remarkable 61% increase in streams in Kenya, outpacing the global increase of 27%. Karun, Nikita Kering’, and Xenia Manasseh made notable appearances, with Nikita Kering’ being the only female artist in the top ten most streamed Kenyan artists.

• Podcasting Domination: Women led the podcasting sphere in Kenya, with “So This Is Love,” “The Messy In Between,” and “It’s Related, I Promise” claiming the top three spots among the most streamed podcasts. Kenyan podcasts like “The Sandwich Podcast,” “Legally Clueless,” and “The97sPodcast” also gained recognition.

• Wakadinali’s Impact: Wakadinali not only secured the eighth spot as the sole Kenyan artist in the top streamed list but also became the most searched artist in Kenya on Spotify. Their album “Ndani ya Cockpit 3” ranked 10th as the most streamed album.

Spotify Wrapped 2023 highlights the growing popularity of Kenyan music and the diverse tastes of its listeners. The data also underscores the increasing prominence of female artists and the rise of podcasts in the Kenyan media landscape.