Nigeria dominates Forbes list of Africa's 10 richest musicians

Akon needs a lot of revenue to catch up to Aliko Dangote but he is substantially ahead of the pack of wealthy musicians from the continent. Since his debut album after he was released from prison in the US, Akon has increasingly identified with his homeland, featured on several songs by resident African artists and sponsored a project to provide power for a number of communities on the continent.

Nonetheless, the artist is mostly based in the US and perhaps may be seen as a strange inclusion on a list that many argue should reflect artists with a main revenue source from Africa. Both Zimbabwean-American Tinashe (No 5) and Nigerian-American Jidenna (No 6) have similar baggage.

South Africa’s award-winning DJ Black Coffee is at No 2, the first of resident African artists to turn up on Forbes’s list. Among his many milestones, he worked on the official remix of ‘In Common’, an Alicia Keys single.

South Africa is also represented by Hugh Masekela, who recently spoke to Music in Africa about his new album No Borders. Masekela is the oldest artist on the list.

Nigeria dominates the list with three artists in the top 10. The first of these artists is producer Don Jazzy, whose record label has over the years made several hit songs popular across the continent. After his partnership with singer D’Banj, the producer established Mavin Records, a label that has on its books Tiwa Savage and Iyanya among others.

Rivals and raves of the moment Wizkid  and Davido come in at No 7 and 8 respectively. Both artists are now signed to Sony Music Entertainment and have dominated the African pop scene for some years. Ghana’s Sarkodie and Zimbabwe’s Oliver Mtukudzi show up at the base of the top 10 respectively. 

The list is featured in the May edition of Forbes, which looks at the music industry on the continent. “For long,” says Forbes managing editor Chris Bishop, “music has been a part of business in Africa. With this issue not only did we want to come up with another much talked-about Forbes list, we also wanted to focus on how musicians made their money.

“In the edition you will also see how musicians deal with financial problems when they fall out of the limelight. We give a lesson in financial as well as rhythm and blues.”

Since the list was made public, at least one artist has tried to use it to his advantage. “Dear banks,” wrote Don Jazzy on social media. “It’s 2017 and Forbes still says I’m bankable. It’s been over 10 years doing this and GOD and the fans still gat my back and believe in the #Donjazzy brand. Oya banks holla @ me and let’s talk.”