What 5 years of Spotify data says about Kenyan listeners

When Spotify launched in Kenya in February 2021, the streaming giant was entering a young, mobile-first market already fluent in global pop culture and deeply rooted in local sound. 

Five years later, new data from the platform suggests Kenyan listeners have not only embraced streaming but reshaped it in their own image.

According to figures shared by Spotify, listening in Kenya has grown steadily since launch, recording an average year-on-year growth rate of 68% between 2021 and 2025. 

In 2025 alone, Kenyans clocked more than 203 million hours of music listening on the platform.

The scale of engagement also shows up in user behaviour. Over the past five years, Kenyan users have created more than 9 million playlists, signalling a shift from passive listening to active curation. 

In the most recent month measured, the average listener streamed 124 different artists, an indicator of high discovery rates in a market often stereotyped as loyal to a narrow set of stars.

Spotify says the average listener age in Kenya is 26, underscoring the country’s youth-driven digital culture. 

With one of Africa’s youngest populations, Kenya’s streaming habits reflect a generation that consumes music largely via smartphones and social media ecosystems.

Genre trends show how quickly tastes can scale in the streaming era.

Amapiano,  the South African-born house subgenre, has seen the sharpest rise, with streams in Kenya growing by 1,404% between 2021 and 2025. 

Its dominance mirrors its continental rise and growing influence on East African club culture.

Other genres have also recorded triple-digit growth:

• Gospel/Praise: +1,103%

• R&B: +737%

• Afrobeats: +680%

• Hip-hop/Rap: +520%

The numbers reflect both cross-border African exchange and the staying power of faith-based music in Kenya, where gospel has long commanded radio and live audiences.

Beyond genre, language is emerging as a marker of change.

Listening to music in Kenyan indigenous languages grew by more than 101% locally over the five-year period. 

Globally, streams of Kenyan indigenous-language music rose by 128% in 2024 alone, with a year-on-year growth rate of 69%.

The trend suggests that streaming may be lowering traditional distribution barriers for vernacular music, allowing artists to reach diaspora audiences and non-traditional markets without heavy radio rotation.

Despite the growth of local and regional sounds, global heavyweights continue to command the most streams.

Over the past five years, Kenya’s most-streamed artists on Spotify were:

• Drake

• Chris Brown

• Future

• Burna Boy

• Travis Scott

The list highlights the strong pull of American hip-hop and R&B, alongside the sustained rise of Afrobeats on Kenyan playlists.

The most-streamed songs over the same period reflect a similar mix of West African hits, Kenyan standouts, and global collaborations. 

Among the tracks most played by Kenyan users were “Asiwaju” by Ruger, “Rush” by Ayra Starr, “Inauma” by Bien, “Aki Sioni” by Njerae, “Last Last” by Burna Boy, and “WAIT FOR U” by Future featuring Drake and Tems.

Kenyan artists such as Bien, Njerae, Mutoriah and Charisma also feature on the list, suggesting that while global names dominate overall streams, local acts are increasingly breaking into mainstream digital listening habits.

Spotify reports that the number of Kenyan artists on the platform has grown by 112% since launch. 

The figure points to a widening pipeline of independent and emerging musicians using streaming as a primary distribution channel.

Podcast listening is also expanding. Since 2021, more than 35 million podcast hours have been streamed in Kenya, signalling a gradual uptake in on-demand spoken-word content.

While Spotify’s data paints a picture of rapid growth, the broader streaming economy in Kenya still raises questions around monetisation, artist payouts and the balance between global dominance and local sustainability.