Nigerian singer Tiwa Savage has admitted that shat she once struggled with her identity as a Black African girl, while growing up in London.
Speaking at the Unstoppable Africans event, Tiwa reflected on how far Afrobeats and African pride have come in just a few years. She revealed that growing up abroad made her feel disconnected from her African roots, largely because being African wasn’t always celebrated in the West at the time.
In her words, “Afrobeats is the fastest-growing genre in the world. We kind of created it with nothing; no support, no infrastructure, no real belief even from our own people initially. I remember growing up in London, and I was not happy being African. But now I’m so proud because of how big Afrobeats is growing.”
The award-winning superstar went on to dismiss the belief that Afrobeats was just a passing trend in the music industry. According to her, the music and the culture have continued to enjoy a steady growth.
There was a conversation at one point that Afrobeats is going to have its 15 minutes of fame and then fade away. But we are still here. We are not slowing down. In fact, we are filling out stadiums, and we are getting the biggest songs on the charts right now.
“I don’t know how true this is, but apparently, one in every four black persons is a Nigerian or an African. So, we are not going anywhere. As much as they are trying to quiet us down, the music is not going anywhere. We are Africans and we are unstoppable,” she stated.
"The music is not going anywhere. We are Africans and we are unstoppable…"
Tiwa Savage makes a case for Afrobeats. pic.twitter.com/FHJgZA8nO8— @𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗷𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗯𝗼𝘆 (@OneJoblessBoy) October 29, 2025
How far Afrobeats has come
Buoyed by an ambitious, youthful population expanding their creativity, Afrobeats has continued to evolve into a notable sound on the global scene
On Spotify alone, Afrobeats tracks reached 13.5 billion streams in 2022, up from approximately 2 billion in 2017, which was a massive 550% increase in just five years.
According to reports, in 2023, the streaming giant reported that the genre had already been played more than 7.1 billion times, with over 223 million listening hours, cementing Afrobeats’ place on the world stage.
Other platforms have shown similar growth. Audiomack revealed that since 2020, it has recorded an astonishing 58 billion Afrobeats streams in Nigeria alone, reflecting the genre’s strong local base and ever-expanding audience. Vevo also reported a 56% surge in global viewership for Afrobeats (and its cousin genre, Amapiano) in 2023, with 61% of views coming from outside Africa.
Beyond streaming statistics, Afrobeats has sparked global recognition and collaboration. From Burna Boy selling out stadiums to Wizkid topping Billboard charts and Tems winning a Grammy, the genre has become a symbol of cultural pride and creative excellence.
