The new chart launched today (21 July).
Initiated by Portuguese festival Afro Nation and compiled by the Official Charts Company, a new UK chart celebrating the Afrobeats genre was revealed this morning. Featuring the top 20 Afrobeat artists from the past 12 months, J Hus tops the list with the single Must Be, followed by Burna Boy’s Ye. Young T and Bugsey also feature on the chart, along with Yxng Bane, Not3s, Kojo Funds, Mr Eazi, Wizkid, Naira Marley and more.
The new UK chart will feature a weekly rundown of the genre’s top 20 artists. Chart listings will be chosen using UK sales, downloads and streaming data from over 9,000 outlets. After its launch, it’ll continue to publish its weekly chart every Sunday at 2pm (BST) via a Spotify playlist.
SMADE (Adesegun Adeosun Jr), Cultural Director and Ambassador for Afro Nation, said on the launch, “It’s an incredible moment for our culture to see the launch of The Official UK Afrobeats Chart. For years, we have celebrated, danced, partied and united underneath the incredible sounds and artists making Afrobeats and African music their own, and to see our culture now recognised in this way is a truly powerful turning point.”
BBC Radio 1Xtra will also celebrate the launch this Sunday (26 July) with its Official UK Afrobeats Show. Listeners can tune in from 1-3pm (BST). Mark Strippel, Head of Programmes at the station, said, “1Xtra has been committed to championing the Afrobeats scene since our formation and we’re excited to support the launch of the first-ever UK Afrobeats Chart. This is much-needed and long overdue. We’re proud to be a part of history.”