By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Fun seekers at the BK Arena in Kigali, Kenya, on Saturday, August 19, 2023, will not forget in a hurry the excitement they felt seeing their favourite African music stars perform in their presence.

Several musicians from 16 countries converged on the venue to put smiles on the faces of their fans at an event hosted by Spotify in partnership with Giants of Africa for the inaugural Giants of Africa Festival.

It was in celebration of the non-profit’s 20-year anniversary, and the week-long festival did not fall beyond expectations. The event used music and basketball to educate and empower African youths to dream big.

Davido, Tiwa Savage, Tyla and Bruce Melodie were the artists who thrilled the pan-African audience with unforgettable performances.

Tyla, a Spotify Africa RADAR artist, was first on stage as she showcased her Amapiano infused with Afrobeats, pop and R&B style music. She kicked off her performance with her collaboration with Kooldrink, Getting Late, which is also her most streamed track, according to Spotify data.

Interestingly, the market streaming the South African artist the most is Nigeria, followed by her home country. This is likely due to her collaboration with Nigeria’s Ayra Starr on Girl Next Door, which is her second most streamed track and was also included in her Giants of Africa performance. The other countries vibing with Tyla’s music include Kenya, Ghana and Tanzania.

The audience also got a chance to experience her other hits, Been Thinking, To Last and her most recent release, Water. An Amapiano performance would not be complete without choreographed dance moves, which Tyla and her dancers delivered elegantly, leaving the auditorium in awe.

Rwanda’s Bruce Melodie took the stage next, starting off with his collaboration with Khaligraph Jones, Sawa Sawa, which is his second most streamed track on Spotify.

Over the 20-minute performance, Bruce transported the fans through his musical catalogue, from Ikinyafu, Saa Moya 7:00 and Funga Macho. The crowd went wild when ELEMENT EleéeH, Rwandan producer, singer and songwriter, joined Bruce on stage for a performance of their song FOU DE TOi. Bruce then took the audience to church with his gospel song, Urabinyegeza, another of his top streamed tracks on Spotify, before closing off with Katerina, his most streamed song on Spotify. Bruce’s Spotify audience is majorly in East Africa, with Kenya streaming his music the most, followed by Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and finally Burundi.

Probably one of the most anticipated performances of the afternoon, Davido took to the stage next. The artist, whose audience is spread out all across the continent, from Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya and Zambia gave an electrifying performance that left the audience wanting more.

He opened with Over Dem, from his Timeless album and one of his most streamed songs on Spotify. Davido then transported the audience back in time with hit after hit, including Dami Duro, FIA, Jowo, If, Fall and Risky among others. The showmanship continued, performing High, Ke Star and Champion Sound.

Finally, the moment for his most viral song arrived; Unavailable, is Davido’s most streamed song on Timeless, and the most exported track among 18 -24 year olds, soundtracking many dance videos. The song, the dance moves, and Davido’s close-out performance were everything and more.

The queen of Afrobeats, Tiwa Savage, was the final act on the Giants of Africa stage. Also with a pan-African audience, Tiwa’s Spotify listeners are from Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana and Uganda. 49-99, one of her most playlisted songs on Spotify, opened her performance.

Ma Lo, her second most streamed song was next, followed by a string of other hits including KEYS TO THE KINGDOM, Like, Pick Up and an acapella version of Somebody’s Son. Who Is Your Guy was a crowd favourite, as was her most streamed song on Spotify, Koroba. Closing off with Stamina, her top exported track among 18-35-year-olds, Tiwa’s performance showed why she is still the undisputed queen of Afrobeats.

“It was a pleasure to partner with Giants of Africa, particularly for the closing concert, where the audience got to experience some of Africa’s top-tier talent. Africa’s youth are the future, and we are excited to continue to support them through partnerships such as this one,” said Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy after the concert.