Billboard Unveils 50 Greatest Afrobeats Songs of All Time

Billboard has released its first-ever ranking of the 50 greatest Afrobeats songs of all time, a list that captures the genre’s rise from regional experimentation to global pop dominance.

At the top is African Queen, the 2004 classic by Nigerian star 2Baba, which Billboard describes as a “love letter to a generation of women from the continent.” Nearly two decades after its release, the ballad still resonates with listeners, a reminder of the tender, acoustic roots that once set Afrobeats apart at a time when the sound was still shaping its identity. The track’s international breakthrough came when it was featured in the 2006 Hollywood film Phat Girlz, exposing African pop to audiences far beyond Lagos.

The rest of the top 10 reads like a timeline of Afrobeats’ evolution. Wizkid’s Ojuelegba (2014), a gritty anthem of ambition and hustle, sits in second place. Flavour’s Nwa Baby (Ashawo Remix) (2011) follows, a track that brought highlife into Afrobeats’ mainstream revival. Rema’s Calm Down (2022) and Wizkid & Tems’ Essence (2020) represent the new generation, songs that turned into streaming juggernauts and cultural touchstones. Other global breakthroughs round out the top tier: CKay’s viral Love Nwantiti, D’Banj’s Oliver Twist, Davido’s Fall, Burna Boy’s Ye, and P-Square’s Chop My Money (Remix) featuring Akon.

Further down the ranking, Billboard nods to cult favourites and street anthems that shaped everyday listening across Nigeria and beyond. Styl-Plus’ Olufunmi (2003) comes in at No. 11, a boy-band style ballad often remembered as Nigeria’s own answer to Boyz II Men. D’Banj’s Fall in Love (2008) at No. 16 showed the Kokomaster’s softer side, quickly becoming a wedding staple. Fuse ODG’s Azonto (2013) at No. 18 captured a dance craze that spread from Ghanaian streets to diasporan clubs worldwide, symbolising Afrobeats as cultural export.

At No. 20, Phyno and Olamide’s Fada Fada (2016) blended Igbo and Yoruba into a hymn-like anthem of gratitude, blurring the lines between rap, gospel, and street music. Olamide appears again with Bobo (2015) at No. 23, remembered as much for its viral “Shakiti Bobo” dance as for its laid-back groove. Runtown’s Mad Over You, also featured, became a landmark moment in Afrobeats’ global crossover, marrying Ghanaian highlife rhythms with Nigerian Afropop minimalism.

What the list makes clear is that Afrobeats is not just a sound but a living archive of cultural moments, from love ballads and dance crazes to global chart-toppers. By placing African Queen at the summit, Billboard isn’t just honouring a single song; it is pointing to the enduring roots of a genre that now shapes the world’s pop music.

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