Streaming News South Africa

Drake and Jeremy Loops rule Spotify's first month in South Africa

One month after Scandinavian streaming service Spotify launched in South Africa, we now have an idea of what locals love listening to.

According to company statisticians, Drake is the most streamed international artist in South Africa between 13 March and 10 April 2018 and also owns the most streamed track: “God’s Plan”.

XXXTENTACION comes in second, while Post Malone ranks third. Notably, Marshmello (fifth, behind Kendrick Lamar) is the only EDM artist on the list, while all others are predominantly R&B or hip-hop artists. Oh, and Ed Sheeran props up the table.

But popularity varies per city too. While Capetonians loved Nigerian hip-hop star Mckay, XXXTENTACION was rapper of choice in Port Elizabeth, Spotify revealed.

“The music genres favoured most by South Africans on Spotify were ranked as: pop, hip hop, modern rock, Indie, rock, classic rock, R&B, house, alternative and afropop, with 3pm on a Saturday the most popular time for South Africans to enjoy listening to music on Spotify,” the company added in a press release.

As for the local artists making waves, Jeremy Loops is the continent’s most streamed musician, followed by Mckay and Shekhinah.

Notably, Jeremy Loops is pretty popular worldwide too, with his new album Critical As Water topping the million streams mark since its launch.

“Kwesta’s ‘Spirit’, Shekhinahs’ ‘Suited’ and Mckay’s ‘Flexing, Way Too Many’ and ‘Save Us’ from his WAY TOO Many album, also made it to the top 100 tracks most streamed by local audiences over the period,” Spotify added.

Below are the full streaming charts for South Africa during Spotify’s first month:

Spotify South Africa’s Most Streamed Tracks:


  1. “God’s Plan” by Drake
  2. “Psycho” by Post Malone (ft. Ty Dolla Sign)
  3. “Love Lies” by Khalid with Normani
  4. “Look Alive” by Drake and BlocBoy JB
  5. “SAD!” by XXXTENTACION
  6. “Friends” by Marshmello and Anne-Marie
  7. “Rockstar” by Post Malone
  8. “All The Stars” by Kendrick Lamar and SZA
  9. “These Days” by Rudimental (ft. Jess Glynne, Macklemore and Dan Caplen)
  10. “The Middle” by Grey, Zedd and Maren Morris

Most Streamed Artists:


  1. Drake
  2. XXXTENTACION
  3. Post Malone
  4. Kendrick Lamar
  5. Marshmello
  6. The Weeknd
  7. Khalid
  8. Eminem
  9. Migos
  10. Ed Sheeran

Most Streamed African Artists:


  1. Jeremy Loops
  2. Mckay
  3. Shekhinah
  4. Goldfish
  5. DJ Maphorisa
  6. Nasty C
  7. Fokofpolisiekar
  8. AKA
  9. Snotkop
  10. Cassper Nyovest

About Andy Walker

Camper by day, run-and-gunner by night, Andy is editor at Memeburn and prefers his toast like his coffee -- dark and crunchy. Specialising in spotting the next big Instagram cat star, Andy also dabbles in smartphone and game reviews over on Gearburn.
Let's do Biz