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Statistics continue to defy social media doomsayers, as R&B enjoyed a 133% year-on-year growth on the popular music app, Spotify.
The South African online community has spent the past year condemning music promoters for dragging what they called washed-up R&B singers into the country.
READ: Special treat for lovers: The evergreen Peabo Bryson is heading to Mzansi
Soulful R&B artists traditionally wrote and sang about romance, personal relationships and sexual interactions. Today, African artists are improving the genre by infusing their own cultural influences and musical tastes that appeal to modern-day listeners. Not to get left behind on this innovative advancement, Spotify has partnered with ColorsBoxStudio for an R&B writing camp in Nairobi, Kenya. The camp, which is a convention of producers, vocalists and songwriters from across Africa, is set to take place this first week of October.
Spotify’s playlist Tantalizers, a favourite and crown jewel for R&B lovers, is going to be the paternal body for the writing camp. The music app’s data over the past three months revealed Kenyans as the leaders in R&B listenership with Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia, Uganda and, ironically, South Africa being some countries where R&B remains a preference for fans.
Mzansi’s social media outcry against R&B dates back to when Kelly Rowland graced our shores last year, followed by the announcement of Tamia, Deborah Cox, Musique Soulchild, Maxwell and other international stars who have touched down on Mzansi soil this year.
READ: Monalisa: The R&B/amapiano crossover we didn’t know we needed
In recent times amapiano, Afrobeats, gengetone and other genres have taken over the African musical landscape, especially among younger listeners.
However, the Sub-Saharan Africa Spotify market seems to thoroughly enjoy the sounds of Beyonce, The Weekend, Chris Brown, Rihanna and SZA. African artists whose music the fans are relishing include our very own Lloyiso, Kenya’s Xenia Manasseh, Ghana’s Baaba J and Nigeria’s Bloody Civillian.
It is hard to tell who the social media naysayers actually are judging by Mzansi’s older market being complete suckers for what they have dubbed Chillers Sundays, which are generally dominated by R&B. According to Spotify data, 18-24-year-old Gen Zs record the highest R&B streams, with 25-29-year-olds being a close second.
