Spotify has published its 2026 Songs of Summer predictions, a curated selection of 30 tracks that its editorial team believes could dominate listening trends during the upcoming summer season.

The annual list brings together a blend of global superstars and rising talents, cutting across genres and regions. Featured names include Ariana Grande, Drake, Tems, Ghanaian duo DopeNation, and Zara Larsson, reflecting Spotify’s continued push toward a globally diverse music landscape.

According to the platform, this year’s selection highlights several emerging musical directions expected to shape summer listening habits. These include nostalgia-inspired dance records, globally influenced club sounds, emotionally driven pop music, and a growing wave of country songs focused on travel, place, and personal reflection.

For the first time, Spotify has also introduced an in-app voting feature within the playlist, allowing users to choose the track they believe will become the defining song of the summer. Fans can vote directly through the platform and share their picks across social media.

Key trends shaping the 2026 summer sound

Spotify’s editorial team identified a resurgence of nostalgic dance and club influences as one of the season’s dominant themes. Tracks such as New Religion by Bebe Rexha and Faithless, Jamaican (Bam Bam) by HUGEL and SOLTO, and PinkPantheress’ Girl Like Me draw heavily from earlier electronic eras. Zara Larsson’s Midnight Sun also stands out for its inspiration from 1990s house and early 2000s French electronic music.

Global dance fusion continues to play a major role, with songs like Kakalika by DopeNation showcasing the blending of azonto rhythms with amapiano influences.

Another notable trend is what Spotify describes as a “sadboy summer,” marked by emotionally reflective and introspective pop records. Tracks such as Dominic Fike’s Babydoll and Malcolm Todd’s Earrings fall into this category.

Country music also makes a strong appearance through what Spotify calls “postcard country,” where storytelling is tied to specific locations and personal memory. Kacey Musgraves’ Mexico Honey and Noah Kahan’s Doors are highlighted examples.

Full 2026 Songs of Summer predictions

The list includes a wide range of tracks such as Raindance (feat. Tems) by Dave and Tems, Janice STFU by Drake, drop dead by Olivia Rodrigo, Dracula – JENNIE Remix by Tame Impala and JENNIE, and many more, alongside records from emerging acts like ANOTR, Cameron Whitcomb, and DopeNation.

With this selection, Spotify continues its tradition of shaping seasonal listening culture, blending commercial powerhouses with rising global voices while offering a snapshot of where popular music may be heading in 2026.

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The Feature Mixer, to the rooftop of Sora Restaurant in Victoria Island, Lagos, turning an evening of culture and connection into a playful speed-dating-style introduction to Spotify features.

The simple idea at the heart of the event was: what if you could meet Spotify features the same way you meet people?
Fast, memorable, and built around real-life moments.

• How it worked

Guests moved through six “feature dates” in quick rotations. Each station was hosted by a charismatic Feature Avatar who guided a tight 3-minute flow:  what the feature is, why you should care, a quick in-app demo, then a teach-back moment so guests could explain it clearly to their audiences.

Creators, cultural tastemakers, and media voices were grouped and guided through question-led interactions anchored in everyday listening scenarios, from commuting and low-signal moments to shared listening and playlist creativity. Between rotations, guests mingled and networked, keeping the energy high throughout the space.

• The features guests met (and why they mattered)

Each station focused on practical application. DJ Bundle explored how listeners shape their own music journeys in real time, while Jam focused on shared queue control. Offline Bundle reflected everyday moments like low-data usage or travel, and the Personalisation Bundle, specifically daylist and Daily Mixes, resonated strongly as guests saw how Spotify adapts to their routines. Mixed Playlists demonstrated seamless track transitions, and Collaborative Playlists explored how listeners contribute and engage together in a shared space.

• The match reveal

The highlight of the evening was the Match Reveal. Based on their answers and behaviour during each feature date, guests received a personalised Top Feature Matches set via printed guide cards. These one-pagers served as take-home explainers, making it easy for attendees to recreate the steps and share accurate “how to” content after the event.

• Closing moments

As the structured sessions wrapped, the atmosphere stayed lively with a DJ set blending Afrobeats and global hits, followed by a high-energy live performance from Lady Donli, closing the night on a cultural high.

By the end of the event, guests could confidently identify the features, explain what they do, and describe when to use them, with feedback reflecting strong engagement and retention. Many described the format as a refreshing, memorable way to learn, because it made product education feel like culture rather than a lesson.

Ultimately, The Feature Mixer proved that Spotify can make feature discovery hands-on, personal, and highly teachable by turning product education into an experience people actually want to participate in.

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Spotify’s Loud & Clear spotlights over ₦60 billion generated by Nigerian artists on Spotify alone in 2025

New data highlights sharp revenue growth, stronger local consumption, rising discovery, and the growing contribution of independent artists and labels to Nigeria’s music economy.

[16 MARCH, 2026] — Spotify today shared Nigeria-specific insights from Loud & Clear, its annual report designed to help artists, fans, and the wider music industry better understand the economics of music streaming.

Each year, Loud & Clear looks across millions of data points to paint a clearer picture of how artists are building careers, growing audiences, crossing borders, and reaching new milestones. In Nigeria, the latest data points to a music ecosystem that is expanding rapidly, deepening its local impact, and continuing to travel globally.

In 2025, Nigerian artists generated over ₦60 billion from Spotify alone, with revenue growing by more than 140% over the last two years. The figures reflect both the growing global appeal of Nigerian music and the increasing economic opportunity for artists across the market.

The report also shows the scale of listener engagement with Nigerian music on Spotify. In 2025, Nigerian artists generated 30.3 billion streams and 1.6 billion listening hours on Spotify alone. They were also discovered by first-time listeners more than 1.3 billion times, marking a 26% increase compared to 2024.

At home, Nigerian music continues to command a powerful share of listening. In 2025, Nigerian artists were responsible for over 80% of the tracks featured on Spotify Nigeria’s Daily Top 50, underlining the strength of local talent in shaping the country’s listening habits. Local consumption of Nigerian artists also grew by 170% year-on-year on Spotify alone.

“Nigeria’s music story continues to be one of creativity, innovation and global cultural influence. What we’re seeing is a market where talent is not only reaching new audiences around the world, but also building deeper connections at home. For us, Loud & Clear is an opportunity to spotlight the evolving pathways artists are taking to build sustainable careers, and to show the many ways Nigerian creators are shaping the future of music,” says Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy, Managing Director, Spotify in Africa.

The data also points to important growth across key artist segments. Local streams of Nigerian female artists grew by 55% year-on-year, while local streams of Nigerian indie artists grew by 75% year-on-year.

Around 58% of all royalties generated by Nigerian artists on Spotify in 2025 were generated by independent artists or labels, highlighting the important role independent creators and businesses continue to play in Nigeria’s music story.

Spotify’s editorial ecosystem also continued to support artist discovery and amplification. In 2025, nearly 2,000 Nigerian artists were added to editorial playlists on Spotify. Beyond editorial support, Nigerian music continued to resonate strongly with listeners around the world, with Nigerian artists featured in nearly 320 million user playlists globally and over 12 million user playlists in Nigeria. In total, more than 60 million playlists featuring Nigerian artists were created on Spotify alone in 2025.

The latest data also reflects the breadth of listening culture in Nigeria. Over the last five years, the genres that have seen the highest growth on Spotify in Nigeria are urban pop, alternative pop, anime, emo, and drill, signalling an increasingly diverse and fast-evolving music landscape.

Loud & Clear continues to offer a deeper look at the data behind streaming, and in Nigeria, this year’s story is clear: local artists are building momentum at home, reaching new audiences at scale, and generating growing economic value from Spotify alone.

For the full data breakdown and interactive insights, visit spotify.com/loudandclear.

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The list, compiled by Spotify’s editorial team of cross-disciplinary editors and curators, spans music from 2015 to today, ranking songs not purely by streams but by cultural impact, musicality, storytelling, and lasting influence. Three African hits cracked the top 100, proving the continent’s pop dominance.

• Number 8: “One Dance” – Drake, Wizkid & Kyla

Securing a spot in the top ten is no small feat, and the 2016 Afrobeats-infused collaboration “One Dance” earned its place. Drake, who had already experimented with Afrobeats via an unofficial remix of Wizkid’s “Ojuelegba,” broke fully into global pop with this track.

Blending Afrobeats and dancehall rhythms, “One Dance” not only gave Drake his first Billboard Hot 100 number one as a lead artist but also became the first song in Spotify history to reach one billion streams. Beyond the numbers, it proved that Afrobeats could anchor mainstream pop without losing its authenticity, opening doors for countless artists afterward.

• Number 29: “Calm Down” – Rema

Rema’s “Calm Down” had already been making waves before Selena Gomez jumped on the remix, but the collaboration elevated the track into a global phenomenon. The remix fused Rema’s playful energy with Gomez’s polished confidence, producing a song that transcended borders. “Calm Down” became the most successful Afrobeats single in Billboard history and the first African artist-led track to hit one billion streams on Spotify.

The track redefined what a global remix could achieve, amplifying rather than diluting the original sound.

Number 50: “Water” – Tyla

Tyla’s “Water” represents another landmark moment, introducing the South African genre Amapiano to a worldwide audience. Known for its log drum and hypnotic grooves, the track retained the genre’s distinctiveness while making waves globally.

The song won the inaugural Grammy for Best African Music Performance and made Tyla the first South African solo artist to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 in 55 years. Its placement at number 50 signals that Amapiano has officially arrived on the international pop stage.

Spotify’s staff picks highlight that African artists are no longer novelties on global pop lists. Afrobeats and Amapiano now sit comfortably alongside the likes of Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, and The Weeknd, demonstrating that Africa’s sounds are reshaping the very landscape of contemporary pop music.

Spotify’s staff ranks Top Pop Songs of the Streaming era:

#1 drivers license
#2 Pink Pony Club
#3 Cruel Summer
#4 Don’t Start Now
#5 Run Away With Me
#6 Sorry
#7 Green Light
#8 One Dance
#9 BIRDS OF A FEATHER
#10 no tears left to cry
#11 Good Luck, Babe!
#12 Can’t Feel My Face…

— chart data (@chartdata) February 24, 2026

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In February 2021, Spotify arrived in Nigeria. Five years later, the way Nigerians listen, discover, and champion homegrown sounds has accelerated fast.

Here are a few of the trends that tell the story.

The big picture: listening keeps compounding

Nigeria’s year-on-year listening growth has climbed dramatically since launch, with triple-digit surges in the early years and continued momentum through 2025 with an average growth rate of 163.5%.

The culture engine: Afrobeats growth leads the way

Afrobeats is not just thriving, it is scaling at extraordinary speed. From 2021 to 2025, Afrobeats streams in Nigeria grew by +5,022%.

And the wider mix of sounds Nigerians love is expanding too:

• Amapiano: +10,330%

• Gospel/Praise: +5,499%

• Hip-hop/Rap: +3,020%

• R&B: +2,602%

Local languages, turned up

Listening to music in Nigerian indigenous languages is rising sharply, both inside Nigeria and beyond, signalling a growing appetite for local-language storytelling and sound.

In Nigeria, indigenous-language listening saw major jumps including +554% in 2024 and +87% in 2025. Globally, indigenous-language listening growth also spiked, including +141% in 2024 and +41% in 2025.

The very first song ever streamed in Nigeria

The first track streamed in Nigeria at launch was:

• “到此為止” by Shiga Lin

   

A reminder that from the very first moment, listening in Nigeria has been borderless: curious, eclectic, and always open to discovery.

Nigeria’s most-streamed artists over the last five years

Across five years of listening in Nigeria, these are the artists who have dominated the speakers:

1. Asake

2. Wizkid

3. Seyi Vibez

4. Burna Boy

5. Davido

    

Nigeria’s most-streamed songs over the last five years

And these are the tracks that Nigerians have returned to again and again:

1. “Remember” – Asake

2. “Dealer” – Ayo Maff, Fireboy DML

3. “Awolowo” – Fido

4. “Kese (Dance)” – Wizkid

5. “Lonely At The Top” – Asake

6. “Joy is Coming” – Fido

7. “With You (feat. Omah Lay)” – Davido, Omah Lay

8. “Terminator” – Asake

9. “MMS” – Asake, Wizkid

10. “Doha” – Seyi Vibez

More Nigerian artists to discover

The number of Nigerian artists on Spotify has grown +158% since launch, reflecting an expanding pipeline of local creators reaching audiences at home and around the world.

Five years, millions of playlists, and serious listening time

Over the past five years, Nigerians have created over 25million user-generated playlists on Spotify.

And listening time is massive: in 2025 alone, Nigeria clocked over 1.4million play hours on Spotify. Podcast listening is growing too, with over 59 billion total podcast hours streamed since launch.

What Nigerian listeners are doing differently

As the catalogue grows, so does discovery: in the most recent months the average listener in Nigeria streamed 150 different artists. Nigeria’s average listener age is 26, pointing to a young, digitally native audience shaping culture in real time.

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A five-year retrospective, covering Spotify’s footprint in Nigeria from its launch in early 2021 to 2026, reveals the artists who have not just delivered hits but become the soundtrack to everyday life across Africa’s most populous nation. From Afrobeats heavyweights to “street-pop” sensations, these musicians have dominated playlists and speakers alike.

The top five most-streamed artists on Spotify Nigeria are

1. Asake
2. Wizkid
3. Seyi Vibez
4. Burna Boy
5. Davido

The data highlights a clear evolution in how Nigerians consume music, with indigenous sounds, high-energy Afrobeats, and street anthems leading the way.

Over the last five years, the availability of Nigerian artists on major streaming platforms has surged by over 150%, while total listening hours in the country hit a staggering 1.4 billion in 2025 alone.

These “Big Five” artists have not only set the bar for success but also proved the enduring loyalty of Nigerian audiences. Whether delivering soul-stirring melodies or pulsating street tracks, they’ve helped define the soundtrack of a generation and continue to shape the country’s music narrative.

 

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Sitting comfortably at the top is Asake with his 2023 smash hit, “Remember.” The track has now earned the title of the most-streamed song in Spotify Nigeria’s history, reinforcing Asake’s status as one of the country’s most dominant hitmakers.

The announcement comes at a time when Nigeria’s digital music consumption is booming. According to Spotify’s data, local streaming has surged by nearly 300 percent in the last two years alone, a clear sign that Nigerian listeners are fully locked into homegrown sounds.

And when it comes to dominance, Asake didn’t just take the crown; he practically owns the room. The street-pop star occupies four spots in the top ten, underlining his stronghold on the street-pop and Afro-fusion wave.

Trailing closely behind “Remember” at number two is “Dealer” by fast-rising act Ayo Maff, featuring Fireboy DML, a collaboration that blends fresh energy with established star power.

Afrobeats heavyweight Wizkid also makes a strong showing. His upbeat track “Kese (Dance)” ranks at number four, while his joint effort with Asake, “MMS,” secures the ninth spot.

Emerging talent is not left out either. Rising singer Fido claims two entries on the chart with “Awolowo” and “Joy is Coming,” signalling a growing appetite among listeners for emotionally rich, relatable records.

Other notable appearances include “With You” by Davido and Omah Lay, as well as “Doha” by Seyi Vibez.

Top 10 Most-Streamed Songs on Spotify Nigeria (All-Time)

1. Remember – Asake
2. Dealer – Ayo Maff ft. Fireboy DML
3. Awolowo – Fido
4. Kese (Dance) – Wizkid
5. Lonely At The Top – Asake
6. Joy is Coming – Fido
7. With You – Davido & Omah Lay
8. Terminator – Asake
9. MMS – Asake & Wizkid
10. Doha – Seyi Vibez

Five years in, Spotify Nigeria’s numbers tell a powerful story. Afrobeats is not just thriving globally; it’s being streamed heavily at home. And if this list is anything to go by, Nigerian listeners know exactly who they want on repeat.

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The 30-year-old singer and producer now boasts 38.3 million monthly listeners on the streaming platform, edging past South African sensation Tyla, who currently sits at 38.2 million.

The spike in Tems’ numbers didn’t happen by accident. Her recent international collaborations, including projects with J. Cole and Future, have further amplified her global reach. Add her hit track “Raindance” with British rapper Dave, and it’s clear she’s enjoying a strong run on the charts and playlists alike.

Beyond the monthly listener milestone, Tems also holds another impressive record. She remains the most-streamed female African artist on Spotify, amassing 4.7 billion streams across all credits.

With her steady rise and expanding international footprint, the numbers suggest that Tems’ global dominance is not slowing down anytime soon.

🚨 Tems reaches a new all-time high on Spotify with 38.34 MILLION monthly listeners.

— She’s currently the #1 African artist by monthly listeners on the platform. pic.twitter.com/WLJdGAG7GE

— THE DEBUT HUB (@thedebuthub) February 22, 2026

In other news, Tems and Burna Boy have etched their names deeper into music history, surpassing South African rock band Seether for the most appearances by African acts on the Billboard Hot 100.

For Tems, the milestone adds to what has already been a remarkable year. She has now secured three Hot 100 entries in 2026 alone: “Raindance” with Dave, “What You Need,” and the newly charting “Bounce Road Blues.” No other African artist has recorded more entries on the chart this year.

Burna Boy, on the other hand, has extended an extraordinary streak. The Grammy winner becomes the first African artist to place a song on the Billboard Hot 100 for six consecutive years.

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Drake has officially rewritten the record books on Spotify. On February 17, 2026, he became the first artist in the platform’s history to have 300 songs surpass 100 million streams, cementing his dominance as a streaming-era juggernaut.

The milestone was boosted by the track Mine, a collaboration with Beyoncé, which recently crossed the 100 million streams threshold. Behind him, global superstars such as Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, The Weeknd, and Justin Bieber trail, highlighting just how unparalleled Drake’s streaming dominance has become.

What makes this achievement remarkable is the consistency and breadth of his catalogue, not just a handful of viral hits. While One Dance has amassed over 4 billion streams and God’s Plan remains one of Spotify’s biggest rap records, reaching 300 tracks with 100 million streams, demonstrates sustained engagement across albums, features, and deep cuts.

Even older material continues to pull impressive numbers. Songs from 2011’s Take Care still add to the tally, with the title track surpassing 700 million streams. Meanwhile, newer releases like NOKIA with PARTYNEXTDOOR, released in 2025, have already crossed 500 million streams. Tracks like “Nonstop” and “Jimmy Cooks” still average over 200,000 daily streams, years after dropping.

Industry analysts note that modern rankings rely heavily on daily listening habits, not just first-week sales. Drake’s achievement reflects a catalogue that delivers both depth and longevity, proving that he knows how to consistently meet audience demand.

With this record, Drake doesn’t just lead Spotify in numbers he defines what it means to build a streaming-era music empire through consistency, quality, and cultural relevance.

.@Drake becomes the first artist to have 300 songs with over 100 million streams each in Spotify history. pic.twitter.com/kP2c9PbnBD

— chart data (@chartdata) February 17, 2026

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Across the Jan 1 to Feb 4 comparison window, Nigeria saw strong growth in mood-led playlist creation from 2024 to 2025, with rizz up +58%, simp up +66%, and yearn up +305%.

From 2025 to 2026, we could see rizz up +82% and yearn up +170%. Together, these shifts point to a culture that is naming attraction, vulnerability, and longing in real time.

A New Language for Modern Love

On Valentine’s Day, Nigerian listeners moved between local and global love soundtracks, with Burna Boy John Legend, and Billie Eilish appearing in the same emotional universe. What stands out is not one dominant mood but the growth of multiple moods at once. Using rizz and simp as love-coded signals, and yearn as a heartbreak-coded signal, Spotify data shows both sides rising sharply. Love-coded playlist, rizz behaviour grew by +58%  to +82% from 2024 to 2026, while heartbreak-coded behaviour yearn grew by +305% and then +170% over those same periods.

This is emotional literacy in action, with listeners using playlists to process what they feel without having to flatten it into one story.

Nigerian Gen Z is driving this change. Data points to a generation building a working vocabulary for modern relationships, one that allows confidence, tenderness, and uncertainty to exist side by side.

The Duality Generation

Among 18 to 24 year olds on Valentine’s Day, nearly 60% of listeners skewed heartbreak while almost 40% leaned into love. They are not choosing one emotion over another. They are holding both at once, and building listening habits that reflect that complexity.

The pattern is visible across gender too. Men accounted for over 65% in heartbreak and 61% in love song streaming, while women represented just over a third in both cases, showing that both groups are actively engaging the full emotional spectrum on the day.

Geographically, heartbreak listening is concentrated in urban centres, with Lagos leading, followed by Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, and Benin. The map is culturally telling. Young Nigerians in major cities are using music as a live emotional archive of romance, ambiguity, and recovery.

Sharing the Feeling

Nigerians are not processing these emotions in isolation. Valentine’s Day 2025 was the “Blendiest” day in the preceding year, signalling peak shared listening behaviour through Spotify Blend. Partners, friends, and crushes used collaborative playlists to merge Afrobeats, street-pop, and R&B into shared mood spaces.

Top Blend tracks on the day included  Fido’s “Awolowo”,, Smur Lee’s, Shallipopi, ODUMODUBLVCK’s JUJU (with Smur Lee & Shallipopi),  BNXN, Rema’s “Fi Kan We Kan,” , and Rema’s “OZEBA.” In direct song shares, listeners chose emotionally direct records such as Future’s “WORST DAY,”,  Drake’s “GIVE ME A HUG, Asake’s“WHY LOVE”,  Rema’s “Baby (Is it a Crime)” , and Drake’s “NOKIA”. The signal is clear: sharing is not just social behaviour, it is emotional communication.

Beyond Romance: Community, Friendships, and Faith

Valentine’s listening also shows Nigerians broadening the meaning of connection. Globally, Galentine playlist creation rose by over +70% year on year, with +20% growth already recorded this year. In Nigeria, this aligns with how friendship and peer support are increasingly central to how young listeners mark the day.

The podcast picture adds another cultural layer. Faith-based voices remained highly visible on 14 February, alongside relationship-centred conversations, reflecting a listening culture where romance, spirituality, and community wisdom coexist rather than compete.

Spotify also recorded a +20% increase in Valentine’s Day playlist creation globally in the latest comparable seasonal window, reinforcing that this period remains one of the strongest emotional moments in the listening calendar.

“Valentine’s Day in Nigeria is no longer a single-note romance moment. We are seeing listeners embrace love and heartbreak as equally valid emotional realities and use music to move through both with honesty. What stands out is the confidence to name complex feelings and the willingness to share them with others.”says Phiona Okumu, Spotify’s Head of Music for Sub-Saharan Africa.

This year’s Valentine’s data presents a portrait of a generation redefining connection: emotionally fluent, culturally hybrid, community-oriented, and unafraid of contradiction.

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Rema has etched his name even deeper into music history as Rave & Roses (Ultra) officially surpasses 3.2 billion streams on Spotify, making it the first African album ever to reach such a milestone on the platform.

The achievement highlights the album’s remarkable global reach and longevity. Powered by genre-blending records, chart-topping singles, and steady worldwide listener engagement, Rave & Roses (Ultra) has continued to rack up streams long after its release, proving its lasting appeal across different markets.

Beyond the numbers, the moment speaks to a broader shift. The project has consistently pushed boundaries and raised expectations for African music on the world stage, showing that albums from the continent can not only compete globally but also maintain dominance over time.

With this feat, Rema further cements his position as a generational star, while Rave & Roses (Ultra) stands as a landmark chapter in African pop history, a clear statement that African albums can endure, excel, and thrive at the very highest levels of global streaming.

Rema’s “Rave & Roses Ultra” has now recorded over 3.2 Billion streams on Spotify 🦇

It’s the most streamed African album ever on the platform 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Pc6tHfaTkj

— NOTJUSTOK (@NOTJUSTOK) January 24, 2026

In other news, Rema sparked excitement across social media following an unexpected visit to his childhood neighborhood in Benin City, Edo State.

The surprise appearance quickly turned into a mini homecoming as residents poured into the streets to catch a glimpse of the global music star.

In several videos that later surfaced online, Rema was seen strolling through familiar corners of the area, exchanging warm greetings with old friends and neighbours who could hardly hide their excitement.

As word of his presence spread, the usually calm neighbourhood came alive with cheers and chants of “Divine, we love you!” echoing through the streets as fans celebrated the rare and emotional moment.

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Also gracing the cover of the EQUAL Global playlist, she stands as a powerful symbol of the women representing Africa’s creative expansion and global musical dominance.

Known for her hypnotic blend of Afro-pop, Afro-fusion, and dancehall, MOLIY’s sound is playful yet intentional, soft yet powerful. Her music lives where emotion meets movement, earning her a rapidly growing global audience.

Born and raised in Ghana, MOLIY’s journey into music evolved from curiosity into calling. Raised on the sounds of Ghanaian legends like Daddy Lumba, Rex Omar, R2Bees, and 4×4, alongside fearless female voices such as Ebony, Eazzy, Itz Tiffany and Sister Deborah, she was shaped by artists who championed confidence, freedom, and individuality.

In December 2024, MOLIY released her breakout single, “Shake It To The Max (FLY),” a defining moment in her career. The track quickly went viral, becoming an international anthem and cementing her place as part of a new generation of African women with unapologetic global ambition, a rise reflected in Spotify Wrapped 2025, where she topped the list of most-exported Ghanaian artists.

Beyond the music, MOLIY represents a shift in how African women are seen and heard. Her visuals, performances, and personal brand celebrate femininity, individuality, and freedom, inspiring young women to take up space boldly.

Spotify’s EQUAL AFRICA initiative remains focused on elevating women’s voices, and MOLIY’s recognition underscores the role African women continue to play in shaping global sound and culture.

“MOLIY sits comfortably at the intersection of African pop and global culture,” says Phiona Okumu, Spotify’s Head of Music for Sub-Saharan Africa. “Her music reflects a generation that’s fluid, expressive, and unbound by borders, making her a powerful voice within EQUAL Africa.”

We sat down with MOLIY to talk about music, purpose, and finding peace.

• What’s one surprising thing fans might not know about you?

I’m actually quite introverted. I love performing and creating, but off stage I really value quiet moments  being at home, spending time with family and friends, watching movies, playing online games and enjoying my peace.

• When did you realise music was your destiny?

In 2018, something clicked. I was searching for purpose and felt stuck in other areas of my life, but at the same time I was creating music intentionally for the first time and falling in love with how it felt. I also saw African music becoming a global movement and realised I had something new to add. That’s when I knew there was space for me.

• Which African artists shaped your sound growing up?

I grew up on a mix of Ghanaian music and global pop. Artists like Daddy Lumba, Rex Omar, R2bees and 4×4, alongside female voices such as Ebony, Eazzy, Itz Tiffany and Sister Deborah, really inspired me. They all embodied confidence, freedom and individuality.

• How would you describe your sound to a first-time listener?

Afro-pop and Afro-fusion at the core, with a bit of dancehall. It’s bold and playful, but still emotional. Soft yet powerful music you can dance to and still feel seen by.

• Any advice for someone afraid to follow their dreams?

Do whatever is in your power right now and do it consistently. For me, it started with freestyling online. Every positive message mattered. I believe strongly in affirmations, speaking life into your goals and turning fear into belief.

• How do you navigate the industry as a woman?

I stay grounded in who I am. There’s pressure to fit into boxes, but I let my perspective stay fluid. My artistry is shaped by confidence, vulnerability and the freedom to exist in multiple moods at once.

• What does being part of EQUAL mean to you?

Being a woman in this industry has taught me to trust my voice even when the room is loud. There’s real power in women supporting women. EQUAL represents visibility, support and opportunity and I’m grateful to be part of it.

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