Music moves quickly these days. Our monthly column 10 African Artists You Should Know cuts through the noise to tell you the rising artists from the continent on Audiomack you should be paying attention to. Listen to standout selections from all 10 artists as a playlist below.

Candy Bleakz

Hometown: Lagos, Nigeria

Known as the “Lady Dragon,” Candy Bleakz found music by chance, filling in for an absentee performer in a high school competition. After a positive experience, she began writing lyrics and participating in more talent shows until she won the Lagos Got Talent show in 2016 and was signed to Chocolate City shortly after. Her first hit was the viral “Owo Osu” featuring Nigerian stars Naira Marley and Zlatan, which established her as a leading lady in Nigerian street-hop. Her new single “Wale” is an autobiographical telling of her success story.

Obam’s

Hometown: Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire

Ivorian rapper Yves Fabien Mondo, a.k.a. Obam’s, pays homage to his city and its beautiful sights and people on “Abidjan.” The rapper has been steadily climbing up the charts and hearts in Côte d'Ivoire since he burst on the scene with his 2019 single “On Force Pas.” Prior to that, he worked as a street performer and dancer for Burkinabè singer Imilo Lechanceux. Eccentric in his style, Obam’s is recognized for wearing signature overalls inspired by the Super Mario video games, and he credits his can-do attitude to the late Ivorian coupé-décalé singer DJ Arafat.

VJ

Hometown: Dakar, Senegal

Mouhamed VJ, or VJ for short, is a music prodigy who has captured the hearts of the Senegalese public, especially the youth. His music frequently fuses traditional and modern genres, like “One Time,” which starts off with Afrobeats and switches up midway to mbalax sung in Wolof. With a soothing baritone voice, he chronicles unrequited love, love triangles, and the futility of chasing people who don’t want us, while leaving behind the people who chase us. VJ is familiar with life in the public eye, as his parents are popular national news presenters, which adds a layer of attraction for his fans invested in his journey.

Joshua Baraka

Hometown: Kampala, Uganda

Joshua Baraka is part of a bold generation of Ugandan artists surfing against the tide of popular music to create alternative sounds in an industry that commonly sidelines nonconformist sounds. The Kampala native unites early influences from church praise and worship and an inclination for literature to sway from low-tempo R&B to uptempo Afropop. On “NANA,” he combines both extremes to create a love song that has Dancehall tenets with some added flavor of the Luganda language.

Vic West

Hometown: Vihiga, Kenya

“Kuna Kuna” is Vic West’s big breakthrough. The producer-turned-artist released the cheerful choral pop anthem last September, joined by Kenyan artists Brandy Maina, Savara, Fathermoh, and Thee Exit Band. Each collaborator comes in high spirits as they playfully court a romantic interest and heap praises on her physical features. Vic West taught himself music production so he could make beats he liked and become a self-sufficient artist, inspiring him to craft his stage name from his rap inspiration: Kanye West. From humble beginnings in rural Western Kenya, recent virality has primed Vic West to make his way to the epicenter of Kenyan music.

Mocco Genius

Hometown: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

During his time as a producer, Mocco Genius made songs for some of Tanzania’s biggest stars, including Diamond Platnumz, Alikiba, Zuchu, Marioo, and more. He changed course into a recording artist last year through the release of his affectionate Bongo Flava debut single “Napendwa.” He has since continued in that vein, delivering more Swahili ballads like “Nakupenda” and his latest song “Nikilala,” which follows the story of a bashful man in love building up the courage to communicate his feelings.

Kiko

Hometown: Lomé, Togo

Previously known as King Drew, a solely R&B singer, 24-year-old Kiko now traverses Afrobeats, hip-hop, and dancehall. He broke out in 2019 through “Mea Culpa,” an Afrobeats song expressing remorse for past mistakes. The song won Kiko his first professional award in January 2020 at The Heroes 228, a prestigious entertainment award show in Togo’s capital of Lomé. It also earned him a record deal with Red Line Africa that March. November 2022’s “Agama” shows his drill capabilities, while his latest “Money” reverts to orthodox Afrobeats. Nicknamed “The Golden Boy,” Kiko incorporates Mina (a Togolese language) into his French and English raps.

Bruce The 1st

Hometown: Kigali, Rwanda

The streets of Kigali served as a stepping stone for Bruce The 1st, who found rap in high school, representing his neighborhood as a battle rapper. His 2020 drill debut “Tugende” put him on the Rwandan map, and he capitalized on the momentum with standout singles “Umutima,” “UNO,” and “Icara Utagwa.” This push culminated in his debut project SAD BOYS, which was born from a yearning to relay the realities of young people still on the streets whose voices are rarely heard.

Nuchie Meek

Hometown: Monrovia, Liberia

Hipco music, Liberia’s popular genre today, infuses hip-hop with Liberian Pidgin English, commonly known as Koloqua, and features socio-political messaging. Nuchie Meek is one of contemporary Hipco’s players who often raps about societal ills like drug abuse and its effect on the people he grew up with. On his latest single “Buh La Lie?” he deviates from the norm to rap about a hedonistic lifestyle, tapping fellow Hipco artist and African Artists You Should Know alum MC Caro as they ask, “Did I lie?”

Ginius

Hometown: Accra, Ghana

Ginius was an inquisitive child fascinated with her uncle’s djembe band, which led her to playing the conga and learning music production on YouTube. Her official debut came in 2020 through the house-infused “Che Che.” Released in August of 2022, Ginius’ sophomore EP Her Notions Since ’97 combines alté, amapiano, highlife, and R&B. She refers to her music as “Afro-blend” and attributes some of her influences at home and abroad to Paapa Yankson, Aretha Franklin, Show Dem Camp, and H.E.R.

10 African Artists You Should Know Right Now (April 2023)