The digital landscape has shifted from traditional radio and TV dominance to a streaming-driven ecosystem.
According to Spotify’s Wrapped data for 2025, Kenyan listeners spent over 180 million hours on the platform in 2025 alone, with seven out of ten of the country’s top-streamed songs coming from homegrown talent.
Bien Aimé Baraza has been at the forefront of this revolution. In 2024, he claimed the title of Kenya’s most-streamed artiste on Spotify.
By 2025, he had consolidated his dominance, with his July release All My Enemies Are Suffering amassing over 11 million streams across platforms including YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, Audiomack, and Boomplay.
His debut solo album, Alusa Why Are You Topless? Also became the most-streamed Kenyan album of the year, closely followed by Sauti Sol’s Midnight Train, African Sauce, and Live and Die in Africa.
Bien, who first rose to prominence as a lead vocalist in Sauti Sol, began exploring solo projects later and his album Alusa Why Are You Topless? has been particularly popular among listeners aged 35 to 44.
Yet 2025 has been as much about emerging talent as it has been about established names.
Njerae, Toxic Lyrikali and Watendawili all entered Kenya’s Top 10 most-streamed artists on Spotify for the first time, signalling the rise of a new generation of Kenyan musicians.
Njerae’s Aki Sioni became the most-streamed song of the year, resonating strongly with 18–24-year-olds and elevating her album Unintentional into the Top 5 most-streamed local albums.
Watendawili, similarly carved out a unique space in Kenya’s music landscape.
The duo’s genre-blending approach fuses reggae, Afrobeat and Kenyan traditional music, with a commitment to incorporating indigenous languages and local idioms.
The group’s music is not only entertaining but also socially conscious, often prompting audiences to reflect on societal and cultural issues.
Wakadinali, the hip-hop trio, maintained its presence among Kenya’s streaming heavyweights. Their album Ndani ya Cockpit 3 proved particularly popular, with the track MC MCA surpassing 6.5 million YouTube plays.
Other artistes who achieved notable streaming success in 2025 include Charisma, Kodongklan, Bensoul and Nyashinski.
Charisma’s The Motions showcased a unique blend of rap, reggae, and Afrobeat, while Kodongklan, a collective featuring Okello Max, Coster Ojwang, Bensoul, Charisma, Modecai Dex, and Watendawili, gained momentum through a series of well-streamed projects.
Bensoul’s album The Party & The After Party, featuring tracks such as Extra Pressure, further cemented his popularity.
Nyashinski, who returned to the music scene in 2016 after a hiatus, continued to enjoy widespread success.
The streaming success of these artistes reflects more than just talent; it is also shows the evolving infrastructure supporting Kenyan music.
Digital distribution companies have been instrumental, enabling independent artistes to compete with major label acts.
Services like global distribution, playlist pitching, marketing support, and data analytics have levelled the playing field, allowing musicians to build sustainable careers without traditional gatekeepers.
“Kenya’s digital music ecosystem has reached a turning point,” says Bilha Ngaruiya Ongiri, Country Manager, ONErpm Kenya.
“Who would have imagined artistes with over 50 million streams? It’s exciting to see the ceiling being broken and the industry evolving. With the continued disruption of the music business through platforms and companies like ONErpm, which empower artistes with both local and global services, we believe this is only the beginning. The future holds even bigger milestones: 100 million, 200 million, 500 million, and even billions of streams. We’re not just witnessing growth, we’re witnessing possibility,” she adds.
The data from 2025 also reveals the depth and diversity of Kenyan music. Iyanii’s Donjo Maber, for example, accumulated 17.4 million YouTube views and maintained a top-five position on the platform for three months.
Nikita Kering’s Ex achieved 8.4 million Spotify streams, Mutoriah’s Beta reached 6.3 million, and Otile Brown’s Dusuma gathered 7.8 million.
V-Be (Vijana Barubaru) also emerged as a consistent force, with their track Kifo Cha Mende reaching 1.1 million Spotify streams.
According to data from Spotify, global stars like Drake and Kendrick Lamar remain popular, ranked first and third overall in Kenya, respectively, the local scene is increasingly defining the nation’s contemporary soundtrack.
Toxic Lyrikali, for instance, emerged as Kenya’s top-discovered artiste on Spotify in 2025, securing two positions on the local streaming chart with Chinje and Backbencher.
Watendawili claimed four spots with Inakuballika, Matata, Cham Thum (Atoti), and Hadi Kesho.
Streaming data further shows that rap, hip-hop, Afropop, and Afrobeats dominate Kenyan listeners’ preferences, with R&B complementing the musical landscape.
Phiona Okumu, Spotify’s Head of Music for Sub-Saharan Africa, hailed the achievements of local artistes: “Kenya’s 2025 Wrapped reveals a music scene that’s more vibrant than ever. It’s inspiring to see how strongly Kenyans have streamed their own homegrown talent this year, championing rising voices while still celebrating the artistes who’ve shaped the culture.”
The implications of this growth extend beyond cultural significance. Kenya’s streaming market is projected to grow from $21.63 million (Sh2.7 billion) in 2024 to $26.84 million (Sh3.4 billion) by 2027, signalling increased economic opportunities for artistes, labels, and service providers.