It’s definitely a great time for Afrobeats music, it’s artistes and Africa in totality, as finally what was almost deemed impossible for decades has now been actualized. All thanks to the Afro Nation brand for effecting this partnership with the highly prestigious Billboard charts on Tuesday the 22nd of March 2022.
As announced via it’s official social media handles, Billboard made it known to the world that it has partnered with music festival and global Afrobeats brand Afro Nation to launch the first-ever United States chart for Afrobeats music. More details were later brought to light in regards to this new development, it was revealed that the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart will go live on Billboard.com on March 29.
The chart ranks the 50 most popular Afrobeats songs in the country based on a weighted formula incorporating official streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of leading audio and video music services, plus download sales from top music retailers.
Speaking on this new milestone via a press statement, Afro Nation founder, co-head of UTA London and Event Horizon founder Obi Asika had this to say; “The last decade has seen Afrobeats explode into a worldwide phenomenon, influencing culture and fashion across the globe and I am humbled to have made a contribution to growing the genre alongside many talented, passionate people,”. “There is still so much more potential within the scene and the community that has grown around it and I believe it is vital that with Billboard we now have a U.S. chart that reflects this growth and provides a platform for emerging artists from every continent to showcase their talent to new audiences.”
In recent times we have witnessed Afrobeats music cross boundaries and dominate charts within the United States, with records “Essence” by Wizkid and Tems, ”Love Nwantiti” Ckay, “Fall ” by Davido and ”Peru” by Fireboy DML all achieving RIAA certifications in the US, it’s only right that we get the recognition we have for long truly deserved.