East Africa

This was the year the East African music industry breathed a collective sigh of relief after COVID-19 restrictions were eased across the region. Action returned in both the alternative and the popular music scenes, giving the fans a chance to engage with their favourite artists one-on-one again. East Africa’s premier music event the Nyege Nyege Festival in Uganda made a comeback after a three-year absence signifying that the recovery was complete. It is therefore safe to say 2022 was a good year for music in the region with many of the mainstream acts continuing to rack up streaming numbers and earn performance opportunities within and outside their countries. This list looks at some that had fans dancing and singing along to in their respective countries this year.

Diamond Platnumz ft. Zuchu – Mtasubiri (Tanzania)

Vic West – Kuna Kuna ft. Fathermoh, Savara, Brandy Maina and Thee Exit Band (Kenya)

John Frog – Action ‘n’ Energy (South Sudan)

Pallaso – Bega Bega (Uganda)

Bruce Melodie - Funga Macho (Rwanda)

Central Africa

There are a wide variety of artists and music genres in Central Africa, making it one of the most vibrant hotbeds of African music. There have been several releases this year from both new and established artists. Fally Ipupa, Innos’B, Locko, and Ko-C, are among the artists from Central Africa who stood out among the top five.

‘Muselu’ by Innos’B ft. Djizzo (DR Congo)

‘Quand j’aurais l’argent’ by Ko-C feat. Innos’B (Cameroon)

‘Toffole’ by Ariel Sheney ft. Koffi Olomidé (Côte d'Ivoire)

‘Bokoko’ by Roga Roga (Congo Brazzaville)

‘Bloqué’ by Fally Ipupa (DR Congo)

North Africa

The new generation of North African artists has brought genres that were previously marginalised in the region, such as rap, pop and electro, to the forefront and are conquering the world of international showbiz. Despite the challenges in the past two years, most North African musicians have worked hard build their careers and these include Algerians DJ Snake and Soolkimg, Manal (Morocco), Balti (Tunisia) and the Mohamaed Ramadan (Egypt).

‘Disco Maghreb’ by DJ Snake

‘Suavemente’ by Soolking

‘Haneshha Marra Wahda’ by Latifa

‘Mohamed Ramadan’ by Tanteet

‘Allo’ by Balti