The platform made the announcement on Tuesday, November 30, 2021, with Nigerian global star, Wizkid, amongst the biggest winners.
Wizkid
Nigerian musician, Wizkid has been announced as 'Apple Music 2021 African Artist of the Year’.
Apple Music, the giant music streaming and purchasing platform made the announcement on Tuesday.
Making the announcement, Apple Music wrote:
Singer-songwriter Wizkid is one of Africa’s biggest crossover acts, having worked with Drake, Skepta, and Chris Brown, among others.
The Nigerian musician first found regional success in 2011 with the massively popular single “Holla at Your Boy,” which appeared on his debut album, “Superstar.”
Wizkid went global in 2016 after his collaboration with Drake on “One Dance,” which soared to the top of the charts in 15 countries. Between 2019 and 2020, Wizkid was featured in Beyoncé’s projects “The Lion King: The Gift” and its companion piece, “Black Is King.”
In October 2020, he released “Made in Lagos,” his critically acclaimed and most commercially successful album, which included his hit song “Essence,” a track that gained 125 million plays on Apple Music and over 2.8 million Shazams.
This past year, he’s been the most streamed African artist on the continent on Apple Music and ranked on the Daily Top 100 charts in 60 countries, in addition to his monthly plays on Apple Music growing by more than 250 percent outside of Africa.
He’s also been featured on Apple Music’s Today’s Hits and R&B Now playlists, and he’s a frequent guest on Apple Music Radio shows, including “Africa Now Radio,” “The Ebro Show,” “New Music Daily with Zane Lowe,” and “OVO SOUND RADIO.”
“Thank you to Apple Music for this award,” Wizkid said. “It’s a blessing to get to do what I do, and I’m proud to be representing for Africa.”
See Full list of winners:
Global Artist of the Year: The Weeknd
Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year: Olivia Rodrigo
Songwriter of the Year: H.E.R.
Artist of the Year (Africa): Wizkid
Artist of the Year (France): Aya Nakamura
Artist of the Year (Germany): RIN
Artist of the Year (Japan): OFFICIAL HIGE DANDISM
Artist of the Year (Russia): Scriptonite