“The last decade has seen Afrobeats explode into a worldwide phenomenon, influencing culture and fashion across the globe and I am humbled to have made a contribution to growing the genre alongside many talented, passionate people,” Afro Nation founder, co-head of UTA London and Event Horizon founder Obi Asika said of the partnership in a press statement. “There is still so much more potential within the scene and the community that has grown around it and I believe it is vital that with Billboard we now have a U.S. chart that reflects this growth and provides a platform for emerging artists from every continent to showcase their talent to new audiences.”
“Billboard is excited to collaborate with Afro Nation on the launch of the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart,” added Billboard’s SVP of Charts and Development, Silvio Pietroluongo. “As with much of the world, Afrobeats has grown tremendously as a genre in America and we are proud to showcase the top songs and artists with this new weekly ranking.”
Billboard has partnered with music festival and global Afrobeats brand Afro Nation to launch the first-ever United States chart for Afrobeats music, it was announced Tuesday (March 22).
