There’s no doubt that African artists are not just giving us great music to get us dancing or having us in our feelings, they are also topping charts, racking up award nominations as well as going on to win some of them, and putting African music in general on the global stage.
These artists keep making names for themselves, and not just in the present time, but also for the future and they have written their names in the history books too.
Artists such as Davido, Wizkid, and Burna Boy are some big names who have held musical records for different bodies of their work.
For this piece, we will be highlighting 10 records held by our very own African artists.
Wizkid – First African Artist to Achieve a Platinum Certification
Big Wiz as he is fondly called holds the record for the “First African Artist to Achieve a Platinum Certification in the US.”
Straight out of the “Made In Lagos,” Wizkid’s hit song “Essence” featuring Tems became the first African song to be certified Platinum in the United States, surpassing 1 million sales.
This record is one of the unbreakable ones as Wizkid will always be remembered as the first one to do it.
Burna Boy – Most-Streamed African Album
On the 14th of August 2020, Burna Boy release his fifth studio album “Twice as Tall. The album which is a mixture of Afrobeat, Dancehall, Pop, and Hip-Hop genres went on to break the record for the “Most-streamed African album globally, surpassing over 300 million streams. With “Wonderful” being the lead single of the album, “Twice as Tall” also had other hit songs such as “23,” “Way Too Big,” “Monsters You Made,” “Real Life,” and many more.
Black Coffee – First African DJ to Win a Grammy
South African Black Coffee made history as the first African DJ to win a Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album for his project “Subconsciously.”
An album that was critically acclaimed by Pitchfork, and had guest appearances from heavy-weight names in the music industry such as Usher, Pharrell Williams, David Guetta, and Diplo. ‘Subconsciously‘ became a success right from the year it was released (2021) as it amassed over 100 million streams in 2021, breaking the record for Highest Streams in 2021 for both Apple Music and Spotify.
Davido – Most-Viewed Nigerian Music Video on YouTube
Davido’s track “Fall” became the most-watched Nigerian music video on YouTube, amassing over 270 million views.
Released as the second single from Davido‘s 2019 album “A Good Time,” Fall became an instant success upon its release as it became Top 100 Most Shamazed Songs in the U.S. It became the first Afrobeats song to be certified gold in the U.S as well. In February 2019, Fall became the longest charting Nigerian pop song in Billboard history. As of 2021, it was certified platinumb by the RIAA and Music Canada.
Diamond Platnumz – First Sub-Saharan African Artist to Reach 1 Billion YouTube Views
One of the biggest acts out of East Africa, Tanzania artist Diamond Platnumz was the first Sub-Saharan African artist to hit 1 billion cumulative views on YouTube.
Diamond Platnumz has been an artist doing big things in Africa, and with a career spanning over a decade, Diamond Platnums dazzles music lovers with his soothing songs, and electrifying dance steps. He is know for fusing the Bongo Flava genre with R&B, as well as having collabs with big names in the music industry, even beyond Africa.
Yemi Alade – First African Female Artist to Reach 100 Million Views on YouTube
Yemi Alade’s hit song “Johnny” became the first African female artist’s video to surpass 100 million views on YouTube. From the moment the song dropped, it was a hit for Yemi Alade as it skyrocketed her even higher in the music scene. With the handsome Alex Ekubo starring as “Johnny,” music lovers and fans of both stars trooped to Youtube to watch the music video as much as their hearts desired, thus giving her the honour of being the first African female artist to have her music video to reach 100 million views.
Master KG – First African Song to Reach 200 Million Shazams
South Africa’s Master KG’s viral hit “Jerusalema” featuring Nomcebo became the most Shazamed song in the world, surpassing 200 million Shazams.
A Dance/Electronic genred song, Jerusalema became a global phenomenom that topped various charts for weeks and captured the hearts of many music lovers who, despite not being able to speak the language, sang their hearts out whenever the song came on.
Angélique Kidjo – Most Grammy Wins by an African Artist
Beninese singer Angélique Kidjo is a beloved and highly respected figure in the music industry, and not just in Africa, but in the world. The multi-talented woman extraordinaire holds the record for the most Grammy Awards won by an African artist, with five Grammys to her name, with the first coming in 2008, then 2015, next was 2016, then 2020, and her most recent one was in 2022.
Fela Kuti – Highest Charting African Album on Billboard 200
Even in death, the great Fela Kuti still holds a record after living an influential life and leaving a permanent impact on the history of Afrobeats.
Fela Kuti’s posthumous “The Best of Black President” holds the record as the highest-charting African album on the Billboard 200, reaching #45.
Tems – First Nigerian Female Artist to Debut on Billboard Hot 100
The beautiful Tems makes her way into her list. She made history as the first Nigerian female artist to debut on the Billboard Hot 100 with her feature on Drake’s “Fountains” and Wizkid’s “Essence.”
Her vocals on Essence made the track even more exciting as she and Wizkid proved to be an elite duo on that track, thus giving her this historic record.
