East Africa

Abigail Chams (Tanzania)

Abigail Chams made waves in 2022 after signing her first major record deal with Sony Music Entertainment Africa in June. Aged just 19 years, the artist possesses the X factor and has the ability to become one of Africa’s top pop stars. Her first single under Sony offers a glimpse of what is to be expected of the young talent. The single titled ‘Closer’, featuring bongo flava star Harmonize, is Abigail Chams unleashed. Here, she has embraced the bad girl pop persona, ready to claim her rightful place in stardom.

Eddy Kenzo (Uganda)

Eddy Kenzo continued to show us why he is Ugandan pop royalty in 2022 after earning a Grammy nomination for the 2023 awards. This larger-than-life artist, who clinched the Viewer’s Choice Best New International Artist gong at the 2015 BET Awards, also showed his business talents after his Kenzo Festival held in November in Kampala attracted close to 100 000 partygoers. He is also one of the most sought-after artists for collaborations in the region.

Ariel Wayz (Rwanda)

Ariel Wayz has “superstar” written all over her. The Rwandan R&B sensation continued to impress this year with her melodious and sometimes provocative hits. Her second EP Touch the Sky released in September cemented her credentials as one of the singers in the region.

Bien-Aime Baraza (Kenya)

One artist who is not resting on his laurels is Sauti Sol’s front man Bien-Aime Baraza. His solo projects, this and last year, have really shown us what a versatile musician he is and is perhaps the reason every Kenyan artist seems to be lining up for a collabo with him. His latest offering ‘Inauma’ has become a collective earworm, a favourite of everybody from preschool kids to senior citizens.

John Frog (South Sudan)

John Frog’s claim to fame may be his 2022 hit song ‘Action ‘n’ Energy’ but make no mistake, he is a solid artist who has been perfecting his craft for years. He is currently South Sudan’s biggest music export and should continue to be so for more years to come.

Central Africa

Fally Ipupa (DR Congo)

One of the African artists who had a successful year was Fally Ipupa. In 2022, SNEP officially certified his album Tokoss as a gold record, five years after its release. His concert at Kinshasa's Stade des Martyrs on October 29 was a success. Afterwards, he was inducted as “Prince of Ekonda Culture” by the Anamongo people of the DRC. Additionally, he won the Best Francophone artist award at AFRIMMA 2022. His recent performance at Colors Studio also adds to his list of achievements.

Roga Roga (Congo Brazzaville)

Roga Roga took home the Best Artist of Central Africa at the seventh edition of International Prize of Urban Music and Coupé-decalé (Primud), held on 6 October in Abidjan. A number of big names in music competed against him, including Fally Ipupa, Innoss'B, Locko, Ko-C, Blanche Bailly, and others. His band Extra Musica helped him establish himself as one of the most popular singers of his generation in both Congo and the US.

Innoss'b (DR Congo)

There seems to be no denying the meteoric rise of Congolese singer Innoss'b. He won the best Central African artist award at the 15th edition of the Headies Awards in the United States, beating his compatriots Fally Ipupa and Dadju. A number of hit songs were also written by him with artists such as Cameroonian Ko-C and producer Djizzo. Along with his compatriots Fally Ipupa and Gims, he is also nominated for the AEAUSA Awards 2022.

Locko (Cameroon)

Having been nominated for the PRIMUD 2022 Awards, Balafon Music Awards 2022 and MTN Zik Awards 2020, the Locko knows how to make a splash. During the Balafon Music Awards 2022, he took home two major awards: the best album of the year award for his album Era and the best artist award for the decade 2013-2022, a period during which he won the most awards at the Balafon Music Awards.

Ko-C is one of the African countries that is full of talent among which we can mention the singer Ko-C. Nominated at the PRIMUD 2022 and then in four categories at the Balafon Music Awards 2022. Not surprisingly, the singer won the prize for the best musical collaboration 2022 and that of the artist of the year. His numerous successful collaborations make him one of the leading artists of Central Africa.

North Africa

DJ Snake (Algeria)

The year 2022 is undoubtedly the year of William Sami Grigahcine aka DJ Snake. With his ‘Disco Maghreb’ hit, the Franco-Algerian captivated his fans on YouTube, where more than 100 million views were generated. The song pays tribute to Algerian pop culture. Besides being ranked 44th on the Top DJs 2022 chart, DJ Snake also received nominations for Best Electro Artist at the 29th edition of the MTV Music Awards this year, as well as Best African DJ, Best African Diaspora Act, and Producer of the Year; and also received two nominations for Best African Video and Best Song of the Year at the AFIRMA 2022 - All Africa Music Awards for Disco Maghreb.

Soolking (Algeria)

Algerian musician Soolking is the embodiment of an Algerian success story. After settling in France since 2014, the 33-year-old artist continues to make headlines. As the new voice of the Algerian diaspora, he quickly established himself with his 2018 hit ‘Guerilla’. His cover of Elvis Crespo’s ‘Suavemente’, released in February 2022, won the prestigious award of Best Cover Song of the Year at the NRJ Music Awards 2022 last November. French charts ranked the song 18th. He was nominated in the Best Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Male Artist from North Africa, Best Video and Best African Act in the Diaspora categories at the All Africa Music Awards, which will be held in Dakar, Senegal from 12 to 15 January.

Balti (Tunisia)

Balti is without a favourite figure in the Tunisian rap scene. He established himself as the most popular Tunisian rapper of his generation after the release of ‘Ya Lili’ in 2017 and with over 700 million views on YouTube. In January 2022, he joined Spotify's Radar programme with ‘Ghareeb Alay’ featuring Palestinian artist Elyanna.

Mohamed Ramadan (Egypt)

Mohammed Ramadan is one of Egypt’s most prolific rappers. He was the first Egyptian artist to receive the Diamond Creator Award from YouTube in 2020, and he remains the highest-paid actor in Egypt with a contract worth 45 million Egyptian pounds. In 2022, his hits ‘Dawsha’ and ‘Tanteet’, ‘Boss’, and more recently ‘Law Naseen’ featuring Shahinaz exploded in popularity. The 2022 Big Apple Music Awards nominated Ramadan in the Best Arabic Male Act category.