Entertainment
Journey of a Billion Streams- Spotify launches dedicated site to house all things Afr
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Today Spotify announced the launch of Afrobeats: Journey of a Billion Streams, a dedicated site that will track all things related to the genre.
From its origins in Ghana, its popularisation in Nigeria, its fusion with other genres, and how it has become one of the continent’s biggest cultural exports.
Afrobeats is one of Africa’s biggest musical exports and is currently taking the world by storm. On Spotify, the genre has grown by 550% since 2017, and it was streamed more than 13 billion times in 2022, with its leading artists continuing to tick off giant milestones on the global music stage, across live events, awards and streaming.
The site will act as a repository for this cultural phenomenon housing text, infographics and visual elements, including Spotify streaming data and results from the Spotify-commissioned April 2023 Afrobeats survey. The survey, conducted by research firm Kuvora, tracks the rise of Afrobeats and its cultural impact over decades.
The site will be updated on a biweekly basis for the next 8 weeks, but will remain active beyond this as an always-on resource, with frequent updates on new Afrobeats moments. It will also include an interactive experience for fans to discover and connect with new knowledge on Afrobeats.
“There is no doubt that Afrobeats as a genre is here to stay, and will only continue to shatter more ceilings. In 2023 alone, the genre has been played for more than 223 million hours with streams exceeding 7.1 billion on Spotify. We created this site for both new and longtime fans of the genre, who would like to have a better understanding of how and where this explosive sound came to be,” says Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy, Spotify’s Managing Director for Sub-Saharan Africa.
Afrobeats: Journey of a Billion Streams will have five key pillars; Origins, which explores the genres that acted as precursors of Afrobeats as we know it, including Afrobeat, Highlife and Juju among others. The second pillar will be Evolution, and which industry players contributed to the current Afrobeats sound that the whole world cannot seem to get enough of. The fusion of Afrobeats with genres such as Reggaeton, Amapiano and others and their impact on Afrobeats’ success story will be the third pillar. Cultural exportation, especially to countries outside Africa and Afrobeats’ role in this through music, food, language and fashion lenses will be the fourth pillar. The fifth pillar will focus on the Women of Afrobeats, shedding light on some of the key female figures whose contributions to the industry propelled the genre to its current status as a global sensation.
The site will also include key Afrobeats timelines over the years, interesting Spotify data, excerpts from interviews with industry experts and man on the street videos from key markets in Sub Saharan Africa.
Origins, the first instalment of the Afrobeats journey is now live at afrobeats.byspotify.com.
About Spotify
Spotify transformed music listening forever when we launched in 2008. Our mission is to unlock the potential of human creativity by giving a million creative artists the opportunity to live off their art and billions of fans the opportunity to enjoy and be inspired by these creators. Everything we do is driven by our love for music and podcasts. Discover, manage, and share over 100 million tracks, including more than 5 million podcast titles, for free, or upgrade to Spotify Premium to access exclusive features for music including improved sound quality and an on-demand, offline, and ad-free music listening experience. Today, we are the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service with a community of 515 million users, including 210 million Spotify Premium subscribers, in over 180 markets.
Organisers of Rhythms On Da Runway have announced November 28, 2026 as the date for the 16th edition of the event, to be held at the Palms Convention Centre.
This year’s edition, themed: ‘UNBOUND: Because You’ve Got Style’, is focused on breaking barriers in fashion and creating space for all.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of Nineteen57 Events, Shirley Emma Tibilla, affectionately called Cookie Tee, the focus of this edition is to give everyone an opportunity to express themselves without barriers.
She told The Spectator that as a leading fashion brand in the country and beyond, they want to open doors for people regardless of their colour, size and abilities among others.
Described by the BBC as “the biggest cultural exposé in Africa,” Rhythms On Da Runway returns this year as a celebration of fashion, music and individual expression without limits.
Organisers say for years fashion has been shaped by narrow ideas of who belongs on the runway, with certain body types, ages and abilities placed at the centre while many others are left out. UNBOUND seeks to open that picture.
This year’s runway will welcome people with different abilities, backgrounds, body types and personal stories. The theme will influence model casting, the collections, the stories told through the clothes and the way guests experience the event.
Beyond the runway, ‘Unbound’ will create room for young people to learn from established designers, gain practical experience and explore careers within fashion and the wider creative industry.
It will also open conversations around adaptive fashion, accessible event design, talent discovery, mentorship and employment.
The 2026 edition will bring together fashion designers and music stars from Ghana and across the African diaspora, with strong collections, live performances and an all-star cast of celebrity models.
The event will also feature the Black Star Awards, which will honour public figures shaping Africa’s future through leadership and contributions to the continent’s Orange Economy.
Organisers say the list of participating designers, performing artists, award recipients and other event details will be announced in the coming weeks.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
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Veteran Ghanaian gospel musician Bernice Offei has passed on Saturday August 12, 2026.
She was 63.
The news of her demise flashed through social media on Saturday, prompting an outpouring of grief from musicians, fans and members of the Christian community, who have since paid tribute to her distinguished career.
She gained strong reputation as a singer, songwriter and minister whose music transcended generations.
Some of her popular songs include ‘Kaa She Gbeyei,’ ‘It’s By Grace,’ ‘Nyame Kokroko’ and ‘N’adom Ara Kwa.’
Her contribution to the growth of gospel music in Ghana was recognised in 2009 when she won the Best Female Vocal Performance and Songwriter of the Year awards at the Ghana Music Awards, now known as the Telecel Ghana Music Awards.
Beyond music, Mrs Offei distinguished herself in academia and professional life. She attended Achimota School before earning an MPhil in Crop Science from the University of Ghana and a Master’s Degree in Information Technology from University College London in the United Kingdom.
Mrs Offei was married to Prof. Samuel Kwame Offei, a former Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, and the couple had two children.
Her death comes days after she was reported missing but was later found safe.
Mrs Offei leaves behind a rich music legacy that continues to inspire faith, hope and resilience among generations of listeners. -GNA
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