Kabza De Small tops SA’S Spotify Wrapped 2022 list
IF SPOTIFY’S Wrapped 2022 list is anything to go by then South African music artists have had a great year along with the amapiano genre which surpassed a billion streams altogether.
The annual list is a detailed snapshot of the most loved artists, creators and songs of the year, according to Spotify subscribers.
This year’s list shows that local music consumption in South Africa has grown exponentially, increasing by 85% between 2021 and 2022.
Hamba Haa hitmaker Kabza De Small topped several categories on the list, appearing in five out of seven top music streaming lists in SA.
He leads the charge as the most streamed South African artist, proving that the genre known for birthing creative dance challenges is unstoppable.
The amapiano artist is also one of the only two South African artists to feature in the top 10 most-streamed artists overall in SA, ranking second to Canadian artists Drake, and ahead of The Weeknd, who claimed the number three spot.
Kabza’s KOA II Part 1 album made it to the top of the charts for the moststreamed South African album in SA in 2022 and his main collaborator, DJ Maphorisa, was placed second for the top most-streamed South African artist in South Africa.
The two are also well known for their Scorpion Kings projects.
Kabza, DJ Maphorisa, Young Stunna, Mellow & Sleazy, Blxckie, Nasty C, Makhadzi, Ami Faku and Joyous Celebration rounded off the list of most-streamed South African artists globally.
Warren Bokwe, Spotify’s artist and label partnerships manager in South Africa said: “South Africans can be proud of what their creatives in music are achieving. They are making noise in the right places, and at the right time.”
Amapiano Grooves, a playlist made up of some of the country’s hottest amapiano tracks, was the most streamed playlist in SA this year.
K.O’S Sete, which was released in August and has broken a number of records in the industry thus far, has now also bagged the title of the moststreamed song in Mzansi.
Music lovers also showed the most love on the hit-track as it received the most likes via the heart button.
Rounding off the top five moststreamed songs in Mzansi was Q-mark’s Paris, that claimed the number two spot. This song was also streamed everyday in SA, followed by Glass Animals’ Heat Waves, Wanitwa Mos’ Dali Nguwe and Lost Frequencies’ Where Are You Now.
Dali Nguwe was the number one South African song streamed globally, followed by umlando at number two and Paris (featuring Afriikan Papi) at third place.
Spotify’s report also showed that South Africans love to get the party started as soon as the work week is over, with many users streaming the most music on Fridays and kicking off the party promptly at 5pm.