Data from Spotify’s 2025 Wrapped campaign reveals a definitive shift in Kenya’s digital music consumption. For the first time, a new generation of local artists has successfully disrupted the long-standing dominance of legacy acts and international heavyweights on the charts.
While Kenyan listeners spent over 180 million hours on the platform in 2025, the most significant metric is not the volume of consumption, but the content being consumed. The data points to a listening ecosystem where “homegrown” is no longer a niche category but the primary driver of streams.
The Disruption of the “Big Three”
For the past two years, the hierarchy of Kenyan streaming was predictable: Bien, Sauti Sol, and Wakadinali held the top spots, largely unchallenged. While these acts remain firmly in the Top 10 Most-Streamed Local Artists – with Bien and Wakadinali ranked first and third respectively – the 2025 data shows a fractured monopoly.
Three emerging acts – Njerae, Toxic Lyrikali, and Watendawili – have broken into the Top 10 Most-Streamed Local Artists for the first time. This is not merely a single-single viral moment; it is a structural change supported by full-length project consumption. Njerae’s album Unintentional and Watendawili’s En Route both debuted in the Top 5 most-streamed local albums.
The Top Song of 2025 is Kenyan
Perhaps the most critical data point in the 2025 report is the top-streamed song. Njerae’s track Aki Sioni outperformed every international contender, including global giants like Kendrick Lamar and Drake, to become the most-streamed song in Kenya for the year.
This is a statistically significant deviation from previous years where global pop or hip-hop often held the number one spot. The demographic driving this change is the 18–24 age group, who accounted for the majority of plays for Aki Sioni. Conversely, global heavyweights like Drake continue to find their primary audience within this same younger demographic, suggesting a split allegiance in Gen Z listening habits between top-tier foreign rap and hyper-local alternative sounds.
Deep Dive: The Rise of Watendawili and Toxic Lyrikali
The depth of this “new wave” is evident in the chart performance of the group Watendawili. They secured four separate entries on the local streaming chart with the tracks Inakuballika, Matata, Cham Thum (Atoti), and Hadi Kesho.
Similarly, Toxic Lyrikali has emerged as the top “discovered” artist in Kenya for 2025. His growth is attributed to an “unfiltered sound” which placed two of his tracks, Chinje and Backbencher, at numbers 6 and 7 on the local charts respectively.
Demographic Splits and Genre Preferences
Spotify’s new “Listening Age” metric places the average age of a Kenyan streamer at 28. However, distinct preferences emerge across age brackets:
- 18–24 Year Olds: Heavily stream Drake and Njerae.
- 35–44 Year Olds: Are the primary demographic cementing the dominance of established acts like Bien, specifically his album Alusa, Why Are You Topless?.
In terms of genre, the Kenyan soundscape is currently defined by four pillars: Rap, Hip Hop, Afropop, and Afrobeats, with R&B serving as a strong secondary genre.
The Export Economy
While local consumption turns inward, Kenyan music continues to find markets abroad. The report identifies Idd Aziz, Karun, Bien, Sauti Sol, and Zum as the primary “Titans of Export”.
- Karun has seen significant traction globally with hits like Maharani and Mrignaini.
- Bien continues to travel via his collaboration with Marioo on Nairobi.
- Zum is finding an audience with the track Rebel.
Retrospective Listening
The data also tracked “throwback” listening habits. Interestingly, the categorization provided in the 2025 data presents an anomaly regarding the decades assigned to specific tracks, which may reflect how Spotify’s algorithm or metadata groups “moods” or “eras” for Kenyan listeners, or simply the specific lists generated for this market segment.
2025 Spotify Wrapped: The Complete Charts
Below are the full breakdowns of the most streamed content in Kenya for 2025.
Top Streamed Artists
| Rank | Top Streamed Kenyan Artists | Top Streamed Artists (Overall) |
| 1 | Bien | Drake |
| 2 | Sauti Sol | Bien |
| 3 | Wakadinali | Kendrick Lamar |
| 4 | Toxic Lyrikali | Future |
| 5 | Bensoul | Chris Brown |
| 6 | Watendawili | Travis Scott |
| 7 | Njerae | Gunna |
| 8 | Nyashinski | The Weeknd |
| 9 | Lil Maina | Vybz Kartel |
| 10 | Okello Max | Sauti Sol |
Top Streamed Songs
Note: Only three of the top 10 most-streamed songs are not from Kenyan musicians.
| Rank | Top Streamed Kenyan Songs | Top Streamed Songs (Overall) |
| 1 | Njerae – Aki Sioni | Njerae – Aki Sioni |
| 2 | Mutoriah – Beta | Mutoriah – Beta |
| 3 | Charisma – Sina Noma | Charisma – Sina Noma |
| 4 | Matata, Watendawili – Inakubalika | Matata – Inakubalika |
| 5 | Bensoul, Bien – Extra Pressure | Bensoul, Bien – Extra Pressure |
| 6 | Toxic Lyrikali, County Hype – Backbencher | Toxic Lyrikali, Country Hype – Backbencher |
| 7 | Toxic Lyrikali – Chinje | Kendrick Lamar – Luther (with SZA) |
| 8 | Watendawili – Cham Thum | Shallipopi – Laho |
| 9 | Watendawili – Hadi Kesho | Toxic Lyrikali – Chinje |
| 10 | Savara – Show You Off | Chella – My Darling |
Top Streamed Albums
| Rank | Top Streamed Kenyan Albums | Top Streamed Albums (Overall) |
| 1 | Bien – Alusa Why Are You Topless? | Bien – Alusa Why Are You Topless? |
| 2 | Sauti Sol – Midnight Train | SZA – SOS Deluxe (LANA) |
| 3 | Njerae – Unintentional | Sauti Sol – Midnight Train |
| 4 | Watendawili – En Route | Playboi Carti – Music |
| 5 | Charisma – The Motions | Kendrick Lamar – GNX |
| 6 | Sauti Sol – Afrikan Sauce | SZA – SOS |
| 7 | KODONGKLAN – Disko | PARTYNEXTDOOR – $ome $exy $ongs 4 U |
| 8 | Sauti Sol – Live And Die In Afrika | Chris Brown – 11:11 |
| 9 | Bensoul – The Party & The After Party | Njerae – Unintentional |
| 10 | Wakadinali – Ndani Ya Cockpit 3 | Tyla – TYLA |
Top Songs by Decade (Retrospective Listening)
As categorized by Spotify’s 2025 Wrapped Data:
- 2020s: Njerae – Aki Sioni
- 2010s: Kendrick Lamar & SZA – All The Stars
- 1990s: Chris Brown & Jordin Sparks – No Air
- 1980s: Mario – Let Me Love You
- 1970s: Billie Eilish – Ocean Eyes
