Spotify Wrapped: What are Ghanaians listening to in 2022?

Ghana is not called the ‘Gateway to Africa’ for nothing. Ghanaians may proudly support their own, but as this year’s Spotify Wrapped data shows, they’re also enabling other creators and artists from other countries on the continent to thrive.

The country’s music scene is brimming with global hits, churning out some of the continent’s promising breakout artists. And, as digital streaming platforms continue to be the dominant way for artists to reach their fans globally and for fans to explore their musical and audio content tastes, what exactly are Ghanaians listening to? How does this influence culture? What does this reveal about Ghana’s music scene in general?

“This year, Ghanaians have shown that music is indeed a universal language. Spotify Wrapped results show Ghanaians are as welcoming of international influences as local ones and those from the wider African continent,” says Spotify’s head of music for Sub-Saharan Africa, Phiona Okumu.

Ghana’s Spotify Wrapped results for 2022 – an annual round up of the top artists and music of the year as streamed by users around the world, shows how Ghanians are listening to music.

• Ghanaians love a good party, and they start this from 5:00pm when the sun is about to go down through to 6:00 pm and 11:00 pm according to the latest Spotify Wrapped data.  It is no surprise that the day when they stream the most music is Friday, followed by Saturday. 

• The playlist that they jam to the most is African Heat – Spotify’s curated playlist which compiles all the tracks heating up the continent. 

• It goes without saying that Ghanaians love their own, as local music consumption keeps soaring with an impressive 193% year on year increase from from 2021 to 2022.

• Nigerian artists are enjoying a sweet spot in Ghana, as Burna Boy takes the top spot as the most streamed artist in the country this year. Home grown talent  Black Sherif continues to have a stand out presence in music, ending the year as the second most streamed artist locally. 

• The two also clinched top spots for the most streamed albums of the year with Love, Damini by Burna Boy leading  followed by Black Sherif’s The Villian I Never Was . 

• Spotify RADAR Global Artist Ayra Starr topped the list as the most streamed female artist in Ghana. She’s followed closely by the Grammy-nominated Tems, with Africa’s first to join Spotify’s EQUAL Programme, Gyakie at third place. 

• Black Sherif’s meteoric rise to fame which he chronicled in his Kwaku The Traveller got the most heart hits among Ghanaians.

The full breakdown of the top lists is below.

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