Spotify Wrapped: Kabza De Small is the most streamed South African artist

Spotify Wrapped is the streaming giant’s thorough look into the music and podcasts that defined the year for South African users. Data collected in 2023 shows that local users listened to more local songs this year than in 2022. The improvement, Spotify said, was evident in the consumption, which grew by 101% this year.

Tyler ICU’s ‘Mnike’ single and Lady Amar’s ‘Hamba Juba’ were the most streamed songs in South Africa, in a list dominated by local songs. Nine out of 10 of the top streamed songs in South Africa are South African, a significant change from the previous two years. ‘Mnike’ also tops the list of most added songs to user-generated playlists.

“The South African music industry is evolving and growing with every song released,” Spotify sub-Saharan Africa head of music Phiona Okumu said. “We are glad to see the local creators resonating with South African users.”

One of Spotify’s most popular tabs is the search function, which saw Kelvin Momo ranked second behind Drake on the most searched artist list in South Africa. ‘Umbayimbayi’ by Inkabi Zezwe – Sjava and Big Zulu – earned the No 10 spot on the most streamed South African songs in South Africa, while the duo’s album, Ukhamba, was also 10th on the most streamed albums in the country.

Sjava also appeared in two lists: in the third most streamed South African artist in SA, while his album Isibuko was the third most streamed South African album in South Africa.

Amapiano continued to dominate the charts with the most streamed songs coming out of the genre. Kabza De Small remained the most streamed South African artist for the second year in a row, with two of his projects, KOA II Part 1 and The Konka Mixtape : Sweet & Dust, rounding up the top five most streamed South Africa albums in the country. Additionally, Kabza De Small and DJ Maphorisa ranked second and third overall among South African artists listed in the top 10 most streamed artists overall, behind Drake.

Male artists still dominate the most streamed lists, but female artists are making significant progress in average streams. The average increase in streams year-over-year is 49%. Lady Amar appears on the list of most streamed South African songs in SA.

According to Spotify data, Taylor Swift has the highest number of streams among the most popular female artists globally. In South Africa, Makhadzi is ranked first, followed by Ami Faku, Nkosazana Daughter, Lwah Ndlunkulu, Nomfundo Moh, MaWhoo rounding out the top five. Lwah Ndlunkulu also appears in the top 10 of the most searched South African artists.

Most streamed South African artists in SA

1. Kabza De Small
2. DJ Maphorisa
3. Sjava
4. Kelvin Momo
5. Mellow & Sleazy
6. Nasty C
7. AKA
8. Tyler ICU
9. Joyous Celebration
10. Aymos

Most streamed artists in SA

1. Drake
2. Kabza De Small
3. DJ Maphorisa
4. The Weeknd
5. Taylor Swift
6. Chris Brown
7. J. Cole
8. Savage
9. Travis Scott
10. SZA

Most streamed songs in SA

1. ‘Mnike’ by Tyler ICU ft. DJ Maphorisa, Nandipha808, Ceeka RSA & Tyron Dee
2. ‘Hamba Juba’ by Lady Amar ft. JL SA, Cici, Murumba Pitch
3. ‘Mina Nawe’ by Soa Mattrix
4. ‘Awukhuzeki’ by DJ Stokie
5. ‘Stimela’ by 2Point1 ft. Ntate Stunna & Nthabi Sings
6. ‘Gangnam Style’ by Mas Musiq ft. DJ Maphorisa & Kabza De Small
7. ‘Imnandi lento’ by Mellow & Sleazy ft. Tman Xpress
8. ‘Fatela’ by Aymos
9. ‘People’ by Libianca
10. ‘Sgudi Snyc’ by De Mthuda

Top exported South African artists

1. Master KG
2. Black Coffee
3. Nomcebo Zikode
4. DJ Maphorisa
5. Lebo M
6. The Kiffness
7. Lucky Dube
8. Will Linley
9. Kabza De Small
10. Nasty C

Most streamed South African songs in SA

1. ‘Mnike’ by Tyler ICU ft. DJ Maphorisa, Nandipha808, Ceeka RSA & Tyron Dee
2. ‘Hamba Juba’ by Lady Amar ft. JL SA, Cici, Murumba Pitch
3. ‘Mina Nawe’ by Soa Mattrix
4. ‘Awukhuzeki’ by DJ Stokie
5. ‘Stimela’ by 2Point1 ft. Ntate Stunna & Nthabi Sings
6. ‘Gangnam Style’ by Mas Musiq ft. DJ Maphorisa & Kabza De Small
7. ‘Imnandi lento’ by Mellow & Sleazy ft. Tman Xpress
8. ‘Fatela’ by Aymos
9. ‘Sgudi Snyc’ by De Mthuda
10. ‘Umbayimbayi’ by Inkabi Zezwe

Most streamed albums in SA

1. SOS by SZA
2. Amukelani by Kelvin Momo
3. HEROES & VILLAINS by Metro Boomin
4. MASS COUNTRY by AKA
5. Her Loss by Drake
6. For All The Dogs by Drake
7. Starboy by The Weeknd
8. Isibuko by Sjava
9. UTOPIA by Travis Scott
10. Ukhamba by Inkabi Zezwe

Most streamed South African albums in SA

1. Amukelani by Kelvin Momo
2. MASS COUNTRY by AKA
3. Isibuko by Sjava
4. Ukhamba by Inkabi Zezwe
5. KOA II Part 1 by Kabza De Small
6. The Konka Mixtape: Sweet & Dust by Kabza De Small
7. My Journey Continues by DJ Stokie
8. NINI na NINI by Mas Musiq
9. Horumar by Murumba Pitch
10. Spontaan by Riaan Benadé

Most streamed South African podcasts in SA

1. Podcast and Chill with MacG
2. VT Podcast “Ideas That Matter”
3. Wisdom & Wellness with Mpoomy Ledwaba
4. Darren “Whackhead” Simpson’s prank calls on Kfm Mornings
5. True Crime South Africa
6. Setlhoeng sa Tumelo
7. After School Is After School With Sis G.U
8. KHULUMA NAMI NGILALELE
9. History of South Africa podcast
10. The Anglo-Boer War