DJ mixes from Africa have tracked massive numbers on Apple Music over the past year, with the company citing a 500% streaming bump in African DJ mixes from August 2021 through August 2022 according to Billboard. The biggest rise on the continent was seen in Nigeria, where the growth of DJ Mixes during 2022 has risen 3,000% year over year, making it one of the world’s top 10 countries for DJ mixes. In other African countries such as South Africa, streams have grown 150% year over year, maintaining the country’s position as a top 10 market for DJ Mixes. Kenya, Uganda and Ghana are also major drivers of this continental growth.

According to Apple Music, this growth has been driven by the explosion of African electronic genres including afrobeats, amapiano and Gqom, as produced by genre leaders including Wizkid, Ckay, Davido, Tems, Burna Boy, Fireboy DML, as well as other African stars such as Major League DJz, Kabza de Small, DJ Maphorisa, DBN Gogo and more. The streaming platform also hosts mixes from a plethora of African dance music brands and curators including Soul Candi, Obrigado, KUNYE and The Balcony Mix Africa.

One of the beneficiaries of this rise is Dj Phil - whose Amapiano Essentials became charted in the top 20 of Apple Music Top Albums in Nigeria. The 25-track album features mix of some of the biggest songs released in the year; "Peace Be Unto You," "Sungba (Remix)" - which peaked at No. 1 in Nigeria as well as top ten hits such as "Certified Loner," "Champion Sound," and "WATAWI.' The album isn't limited to the Nigerian Amapiano songs, in fact it has more songs from South African songs than any other country. Tracks such as "Khuza Gogo" by MasterBlaq, "Abo Mvelo" by Daliwonga, "Big Flexa" by Costa Titch and "Selema (Po Po) [Mixed]" are also on the album.

Listen to the album here