Popular Kenyan music group Sauti Sol and US-based Canadian rapper Drake are the most streamed artists on Spotify in Kenya.
Spotify, a Swedish audio streaming platform, launched in Kenya last month giving users access to more than 70 million songs, 2.2 million podcast titles, and over four billion playlists.
“The first 30 days have seen Kenyan listeners navigating the vast world of music discovery with the list of the top-streamed artists consisting mainly of international hitmakers,” Spotify said in a statement on Wednesday.
Drake’s hits were the most streamed followed by the “Suzanna” hitmakers songs. Formed in 2005, Sauti Sol is an afro-pop band that has treated Kenyans to some of now popular hits in the airwaves.
Also top in the most listened to artists are American rapper Pop Smoke, Canadian singer Justin Bieber, and “Lucid Dreams” Juice WRLD.
Juice WRLD’s hit “Lucid Dreams” has been streamed on the platform over one billion times.
The list released shows that Kenyans on the platform prefer pop music mostly by Western artists.
American female rapper Cardi B’s “Up” is the most streamed track on Spotify, followed by Drake with “What’s Next” and 6LACK and Lil Tjay’s “Calling My Phone”.
“African Heat” playlist, which features prominent Kenyan artists such as Blinky Bill, Bensoul and Nyashinski, came fourth among the most popular playlists. Today’s Top Hits, RapCaviar, Mood Booster featuring mostly Hip Hop were the most streamed playlists.
President Obama’s podcast Born in the USA was among the top listened to audios on the streaming app.
“When it comes to podcast consumption, Spotify Originals and Exclusives seem to resonate with listeners in Kenya with The Joe Rogan Experience coming in first and President Obama’s podcast with Bruce Springsteen Renegades: Born in the USA taking fourth place,” said Spotify.
Most users on the platform came from major cities and urban areas with Nairobi and Mombasa topping the list. Nakuru, Kisumu, and Eldoret were the other areas on the list.
