Top Songs of 2025: Sub-Saharan Africa

Apple Music’s end-of-year charts are based on plays between November 1, 2024, and October 31, 2025. The African music vanguard continued to take form in 2025 with sounds both familiar and unexpected. The region’s heavy hitters—Nigeria’s Burna Boy, Davido, and Tiwa Savage; Ghanaian stars Amaarae and Stonebwoy; South Africa’s DJ Maphorisa and Kabza De Small—made splashes with inventive new albums, while voices of the underground bubbled up into the mainstream. Mavo dominated social media feeds and dance floors alike with “Escaladizzy,” elevating his status from a viral superstar known for outlandish slang to one of Nigeria’s undeniable breakout stars of the year. Similarly, Ciza, Jazzworx, and Thukuthela’s “Isaka (6am)” resounded from South Africa and beyond the continent. Across genres from Afrobeats and amapiano to 3-step, Afro-house, and bongo flava, African music in ’25 pointed towards a growing trend of innovation and experimentation.