Apple Music Celebrates Africa Month with Afrobeats

Vanessa Obioha

As part of its celebration of Africa Month dedicated to May, Apple Music is putting the spotlight on Afrobeats, a Nigerian music genre that has taken the world by storm. The music streaming platform revealed that it will be kicking off the celebrations with the introduction of cover stars on its Afrobeats Hits playlist. Afrobeats music sensation Fireboy DML is the first star to be featured.

The Nigerian singer who just released his new single ‘Everyday,’ expressed gratitude for being the first to be featured in the playlist.

“I feel incredibly honoured and grateful,” he tells Apple Music. “Since 2019 I’ve had incredible support from Apple Music and I’m sure the whole African music scene can say the same. I’m excited to see where this leads and what it will do for the culture.”

Apple Music is also featuring “The Story of Afrobeats in 20 Songs,” a written editorial feature highlighting the music and artists that helped the genre grow from a West African staple into a global phenomenon. Towards the end of May, Apple Music will be launching a new Viral Afrobeats playlist, as well as a new Afrobeats category page that will house new releases, playlists and essential albums from the genre.