African stars shine on Rolling Stone’s 100 Best Albums of 2024

The musicians are celebrated alongside global icons such as Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and Kendrick Lamar. Rolling Stone hailed Tyla, Rema, and Ayra Starr – ranked at No 6, No 11, and No 53 respectively – as “Afropop innovators.” Tems also made the list, coming in at No 37.

Tyla made the list with her eponymous debut, released back in March and birthing the Grammy-winning single ‘Water’, while Tems secured a spot with the Grammy-nominated Born in the Wild. Rema made the list with his sophomore album HEIS (also Grammy-nominated), while Ayra Starr made the list with her second album The Year I Turned 21.

Rolling Stone said Tyla’s project “arrives at a time when South African amapiano is poised to globalise like never before,” and describes HEIS as “more like a rave than almost anything Rema has made prior (excluding the excellent loosey ‘Bounce’, for example, raging while everything else simmers). The result is the buzzy, visceral, sweat-it-out music that no one else in the mainstream is making.”

On Tems, the magazine said: “Her vision is made timeless via a seamless blend of stripped-down ballads, the cool of 1990s R&B with flecks of SWV and Sade, joyous highlife, Afro-dance music like amapiano, and rugged hip-hop.”

Rolling Stone’s verdict on Ayra Starr is that she “asserts a musical maturity that could be considered far beyond her years, but perhaps more aptly serves as a reminder of the emotional depth, logical prowess, and enviable passion young people often possess.”

“The albums of 2024 hit us hard and soft, all year long,” Rolling Stone said. “The music world was full of explosive chaos, all over the stylistic map, from the pop espresso on the airwaves to the club classics in your eardrums. A new generation of world-beating pop queens claimed the top of the charts – and the top of our albums list – while radical innovators made noise in the margins.”

Tems and Rema are in the running for trophies at the 67th annual Grammy Awards, slated for 2 February 2025 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Tems received three nominations – Best African Music Performance for ‘Love Me JeJe’, Best Global Music Album and Best R&B Song for ‘Burning’. Rema also scored a nomination in the Best Global Music Album with HEIS.

In August, Rolling Stone launched the Rolling Stone Africa edition as part of a vision to expand its presence on the continent. Nigerian Afrobeat icon Fela Kuti was featured on the maiden cover.

“Africans are everywhere, and there is no doubt that love for Africa extends beyond the continent and our neighbourhoods,” the magazine’s chief technology officer, Samuel Panda, said. “Our goal is to be the beacon that connects and celebrates the global African community. Our subscriptions will be affordable, our content relatable, and we will shine a light on artists, big and small, communities, voices, and game-changers who represent the African spirit.”