When one of Nigeria’s biggest artists, Burna Boy, released his new album, Twice as Tall, in August, it became an instant global success. Burna Boy’s international popularity had skyrocketed the year before with the release of his fourth studio album, African Giant, which garnered the artist his first Grammy nomination and sold out arenas in Europe and North America. Twice as Tall, which, like African Giant, is in the Afrobeats genre, a style of pop music with West African roots, took that success further: It hit No. 1 in dozens of countries on Apple Music’s worldwide charts and reached the top 60 on the Billboard 200 in the United States. But its importance does not rest solely on its record-breaking stats. The album also serves as the latest example of the growing global reach of African artists.
After years of trying to sell Western music in Africa, global music labels are now looking to Africa for talent—a shift that was apparent in Billboard magazine’s May 2020 cover story, which featured three of Nigeria’s biggest stars: Davido, Tiwa Savage, and Mr Eazi. In the past few years, global audiences have become increasingly familiarized with African musicians. That’s partly due to collaborations with popular Western artists, such as Drake’s 2016 hit “One Dance,” featuring Nigeria’s Wizkid, or the visual album Beyonce released on Disney+ this summer, Black Is King, which features an array of African musicians, including Burna Boy. But overall, it’s the rise of social media and digital streaming that has altered the musical landscape. While physical distribution in limited markets caused long delays in the past, African artists can now quickly build global fan bases—and connect instantly with followers around the world.
