First Among Equals: Asake Tops Spotify Nigeria All-Time Streaming Charts
In an Afrobeats landscape shaped by Davido, Burna Boy, Wizkid, Rema, Tyla and Ayra Starr, one name now sits clearly at the summit: Asake.
Barely five years after emerging from the streets of Isale Eko in Lagos, Ahmed Ololade, popularly known as Asake, has become the most-streamed artist of all time on Spotify in Nigeria. The milestone was announced as Spotify marked five years of operations across Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana, underlining both Asake’s dominance and the scale of Afrobeats’ growth across the region.
Spotify’s data shows that Asake currently has over 8.6 million monthly listeners on the platform, placing him ahead of Nigeria’s most established global stars. He leads a chart dominated by Nigerian artists, ranking above Wizkid, Seyi Vibez, Burna Boy and Davido, reinforcing Afrobeats as the most popular Nigerian artiste on the streaming platform.
Asake’s streaming dominance extends well beyond monthly listener figures. His song Remember emerged as the most-streamed track in Nigeria, while Lonely at the Top also placed in the top five. In 2024, he made history as the first African artist to top Spotify’s Global Debut Album chart with his third studio album, Lungu Boy, which debuted at number one and broke the record for the biggest first-day streams for an African album on the platform, amassing 9.42 million streams globally on its opening day. One of the album’s standout tracks, MMS featuring Wizkid, set a further national record as the biggest first-day debut on Spotify Nigeria with 870,000 streams.
The streaming platform revealed that Nigerian users streamed more than 1.4 billion hours of music in 2025 alone, while creating over 25 million playlists in the past five years. Spotify credited listeners as the primary force behind the platform’s growth, noting that music discovery and consumption had been driven largely by organic audience behaviour.
Other tracks on Nigeria’s most-streamed songs list reflect the country’s broad listening tastes. They include Dealer by Ayo Maff featuring Fireboy DML, Awolowo by Fido, and Kese (Dance) by Wizkid. Together, the rankings point to a blend of street pop, mainstream Afrobeats and dance-ready records shaping daily listening habits.
Spotify’s regional figures further illustrate Nigeria’s outsized influence on African streaming culture. With over 25 million playlists created, Nigeria far outpaced Kenya’s 9.5 million and Ghana’s 3.7 million within the same period. The platform also noted that the average Nigerian Spotify listener is about 26 years old, slightly younger than Ghana’s average of 27, highlighting a youthful audience driving consumption.
Asake’s rise has been defined by speed, consistency and reach. Signed to Olamide’s YBNL label before entering a distribution partnership with Empire, he built a run of hits that fused Fuji-inspired vocals, street-pop energy and contemporary Afrobeats production. The sound resonated strongly with young listeners, translating local appeal into national and global streaming success.
Beyond streaming milestones, Asake has continued to expand his cultural footprint on major international stages. He brought Lagos to Kings Theatre in Brooklyn and became the first African artist to headline Red Bull Symphonic in the United States — a performance released two months ago that has already surpassed three million views on YouTube, underscoring his growing global reach.
Lungu Boy featured collaborations with Wizkid, Travis Scott, Stormzy, Central Cee and Ludmilla, reflecting Asake’s widening international appeal. The strong showing of both the album and its singles highlights the longevity of his catalogue, with songs continuing to attract heavy replay long after release.
From Isale Eko to the top of Spotify Nigeria’s Afrobeats charts and landmark stages abroad, Asake has risen above a crowded field of African superstars to claim the number one spot.
For Asake, it is certainly lonely at the top, but by every measure, it is glorious.
