I know it’s rather too early to conclude, but in years to come, when music historians, critics, and journalists dissect the defining cultural moments of Afropop in 2025, they will unarguably reference how Tems won her second Grammy in February and how Ayra Starr and Darkoo each claimed two MOBO Awards in the same month.
These victories—individually significant—carry the weight of something larger, something that suggests that female Afropop artists are claiming their place at the top of the table and a strong indicator of a larger industry shift that has been brewing in recent times.
For years, Afropop’s mainstream narrative has been driven by the exploits of its male stars. The genre’s biggest milestones—its commercial rise in the late 2010s, the global breakthrough moments that followed, and the ever-expanding festival lineups—have, more often than not, been framed through the careers of Wizkid, Burna Boy, and Davido.
This is not to say female artists have been absent from the movement. Tiwa Savage was instrumental in shaping modern Afropop’s crossover ambitions. Yemi Alade turned Pan-African success into an art form, and Simi’s pen remains one of the sharpest in contemporary Nigerian music.
And yet, their contributions have often been treated as footnotes rather than defining chapters in Afropop’s story. Even at the peak of their powers, there was always resistance to the idea that a female artiste could be the face of the genre on a global stage.
But something about 2025 already feels different. It’s in the way these wins are stacking up before the year has even fully taken shape, in the way female Afropop artists are thriving and doing so on their own terms.
It’s in the visual of Tems at the O2 Arena for the F1 75 launch—standing shoulder to shoulder with some of the biggest names in global culture as an undisputed star in her own right. Tems, who once carried the alté ethos into Afropop with her smoky vocals and celestial pen game, has fully transitioned into a global powerhouse.
Ayra Starr, only a few years into her career, has settled into her role as a mainstay on the international stage, bouncing between A-list collaborations and securing a MOBO double to underline her staying power. Darkoo, often viewed as a bridge between Afropop and the UK’s thriving Afroswing scene, is no longer just an exciting prospect but a decorated act with a reach that extends far beyond the underground. FAVE is killing her Dutty Love Tour in the UK and delivering amazing performances. Tyla becomes the first African Solo Artist to hit 1 billion Spotify streams with her Grammy-winning song, “Water”
What makes 2025 feel special even though we are less than a quarter into it is the structural shifts happening in parallel. Streaming algorithms, which for years allegedly prioritized male-dominated playlists, are seeing a tilt as female-led records—whether emotionally raw like Tems’ or catchy like Ayra’s—command stronger engagement.
Brands, notoriously slow to back female musicians at the same level as their male counterparts, are now aligning themselves with these women as they headline major campaigns. The touring economy is also adjusting to Tems’ ability to sell out venues that were previously reserved for the biggest male stars setting a new precedent, and the demand for solo female Afropop tours is only increasing.
But even with all this momentum, the question remains: is this dominance sustainable? History suggests that the industry has a way of limiting the long-term visibility of female acts, whether through a lack of label investment, gatekeeping at major platforms, or outdated narratives about their commercial viability. For all of Afropop’s global expansion, gender parity has remained an uphill battle: female artists still have to work twice as hard to be given the same runway as their male peers.
However, if the first one and half months of 2025 are anything to go by, it looks like the women of Afro-Pop are rewriting the rules. Perhaps the real question isn’t whether this is the year of female Afropop domination, but rather: Is the industry finally ready to sustain this shift?
