Burna Boy Sets Record as Best-selling African Artiste of All Time

Ferdinand Ekechukwu

Fresh from making history as the first African artiste to perform at the inaugural FIFA World Cup Halftime Show, co-headlining the 11-minute set alongside global music icon, Shakira, in New Jersey, Afrobeats superstar, Burna Boy appears to have emerged the continent’s most decorated and commercially successful artiste at the moment with, 14.46 equivalent million album sales, according to Chartmaster reports.

Burna Boy becoming the best-selling African artiste of all time is a story of global impact, consistency, and the sheer weight of his talent, which has positioned him among the greatest musicians of the 21st century.

Data analysis confirmed he remains the number 1 best-selling African artiste of all time, incorporating his studio LP, digital singles, and streaming equivalents.

Leading the charts with nine historic Billboard Hot 100 entries by an African and surpassed the previous record with 46.84 million global monthly listeners on Spotify.

His collaboration with Shakira on the official FIFA World Cup anthem, “Dai Dai,” made him the first African artiste to top both the Billboard Global 200 and the Spotify Global Music Video. “Dai Dai,” surpassed 800 million combined streams across Spotify and YouTube Music.

According to figures released after the tournament, the song recorded more than 200 million streams on Spotify and over 600 million views on YouTube Music, making it the most successful official World Cup anthem during the competition.

Ranking as Africa’s best-selling artiste with 14.46 million equivalent album units, according to global music data platform, Chartmasters, Burna Boy’s 14.46 million equivalent album units are derived from a combination of album sales, physical and digital single sales, and streaming equivalents, rather than pure album purchases alone. Nigerian music news platform,

The Debut Hub, announced the development in a post on its official X handle, @thedebuthub, citing data from Chartmasters. For the Grammy-winning artiste, the record adds another major international achievement to a career that has seen him emerge as one of Africa’s biggest musical exports, while further expanding his influence on the global stage.

Burna Boy’s commercial exploits extend beyond the chart alone, as he’s also Africa’s best-selling touring artist. The record adds another major international achievement to a career that has seen him emerge as one of Africa’s biggest musical exports, while further expanding his influence on the global stage.

Since 2018, Burna Boy has released 5 albums, among which are some of the most streamed African albums of all time. His 2019 hit-filled album ‘African Giant’ has surpassed 1.2 billion streams on Spotify, while his hugely successful 2022 album ‘Love, Damini’ has surpassed 1.5 billion streams, thus making both projects among the top two most streamed African albums on the platform.