Nigerian afrobeats megastar Burna Boy was Spotify's most-streamed African artist globally in 2022. He sold out Madison Square Garden in 2022, and has also performed at halftime at the NBA All-Star Game. The Burna Boy will also become the first African artist to headline a show at London Stadium, and is about to perform at Coachella. Trapital's Dan Runcie looks back at Burna Boy's decade-long career and his path to stardom.

Little Simz and Knucks were crowned joint winners for the album of the year prize at the Mobo Awards, for their albums 'Sometimes I Might Be Introvert' and 'Alpha Place', respectively. PinkPantheress won best female act, while Central Cee won the award for best male act, as well as video of the year for his song 'Doja', Music News reports. Nigerian afrobeats superstar Burna Boy took home trophies for best international act and best African music act. Mobos seek to honour achievements in music of black origin.

"With its signature groovy percussion, autotune-heavy vocals, and catchy hooks, Afrobeats is finding audiences far beyond Nigeria’s shores. Stars perform at global music festivals, and American musicians sampling their work have introduced African artists to an ever widening audience" - Quartz begins its introduction of Afrobeats. "Much of Afrobeats’ growing appeal is driven by Nigeria’s vast diaspora, but beyond that, social media, YouTube, and global streaming sites like Spotify are ensuring that it’s easier than ever to discover—and become a fan of—Nigerian music".

Apart from the biggest categories, there were some noticeable wins at the Grammys last night. Kaytranada won Best Dance/Electronic Album with 'Bubba', Fiona Apple won Best Rock Performance with 'Shameika' as well as Best Alternative Music Album with 'Fetch the Bolt Cutters', Brittany Howard won Best Rock Song with 'Stay High', The Strokes won Best Rock Album with 'The New Abnormal', Thundercat won Best Progressive R&B Album with 'It Is What It Is', Gillian Welch & David Rawlings won Best Folk Album with 'All The Good Times', Burna Boy won Best Global Music Album with 'Twice As Tall', Body Count won Best Metal Performance with 'Bum-Rush', even Kanye West won, in Best Contemporary Christian Music Album category with 'Jesus is King', tying Jay-Z as the most ever Grammy-awarded among hip-hop artists with 22 awards.

Afropop Worldwide presents the pop music of Nigeria, by far the strongest scene in Africa. Burna Boy, Wizkid, Yemi Alade, Tiwa Savage, Olamide, and Fireboy DML are the biggest on the Nigerian Afropop scene presented in AW's feature, which also covers the rising social activism.

Global stars like Beyonce, Rihanna, and Nicki Minaj have spoken out against police brutality in Nigeria, which has also drawn attention of the Amnesty International who reported about - "excessive use of force occasioning deaths of protesters at Lekki toll gate in Lagos". Nigerian musicians like Burna Boy, Davido, WizKid, Tiwa Savage, and Mr. Eazi have lent their voices to the #EndSARS movement, The Fader reports. SARS, or the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, was the name of Nigeria's notoriously cruel police unit, which was reportedly dissolved earlier this month.

“There are so many situations where a fight needs to be had. A revolution is needed, and I want to inspire it" - Burna Boy said in an NME interview about his new album 'Twice As Tall'. It's the lies in school he heard that sparked his anger: “The schools in Nigeria would rather teach you another man’s history than your own", for example the 18th-century Scottish explorer Mungo Park, who Burna was told in school “discovered the river Niger”. “That’s one of the fucking scams we’re taught!” he splutters. “This is a river that has been drank from and bathed in, and children have been given birth to in, for thousands and thousands of years. Now suddenly a man called Mungo Park comes from fucking England or some shit and ‘discovers’ the Niger? How do you discover something that people have their history in? Then you go and teach these people’s children that in schools! That’s something to fight against".

"If you’re looking for something to keep you company on a long drive or help you turn up a workout, I hope there’s a track or two in here that does the trick” - Barack Obama said in his post on social media, where he listed his favorite songs of 2019. There’s 'Redesigning Women' from […]

"Burna’s compositions are all based in something he’s dubbed Afro-fusion—blending pop, American hip-hop and R&B, Jamaican dancehall, and hard UK rap with Nigerian music—and he puts Africa at the root of that expanding lineage while also pushing the more traditional sounds forward. The album is a splendid hour of jams, both personal and political, that […]