Afrobeats Royalties of the Billboard Hot 100

Iyke Bede

The Billboard Hot 100 — created August 4, 1958 — is a big deal, even for globally recognised talents like Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, and Mariah Carey, who on various occasions have quoted their entries and peak positions to hush naysayers.

Sadly, not everyone gets into this elusive and exclusive club, with many often lingering in the ‘almost there’ chart monikered Bubbling Under Hot 100.

The Hot 100, a weekly chart that ranks the top 100 songs in the United States based on a combination of factors, including radio airplay, digital sales, and streaming data, is the standard test of a song’s popularity in the United States.

Seldomly, songs that are not originally produced for the US markets find their way to the chart, dominating it. A typical example is the Spanish song ‘Despacito’ by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee which crossed over and dominated the charts, retaining the number one spot for 17 weeks.

Over the years, with the growing popularity and acceptance of afrobeats sounds, more and more Nigerian acts are now becoming a frequent feature on the charts, either by hitchhiking their way through their contributions to the works of more prominent artistes or making resounding statements through their viral solo projects.

So far, only six Nigerian afrobeats acts have made it to the Hot 100. We ranked them below.

Wizkid (4 Entries, 1 number-one hit)

Becoming the first afrobeats act to score an entry on the Hot 100, the ‘Ojuelegba’ crooner joined Canadian rapper Drake to score a number-one single that reigned on the charts for a total of 10 weeks. Three years later, he joined Beyonce on the alluring ‘Brown Skin Girl’ for just one week, peaking at number 76. By 2021, he debuted his first solo song ‘Essence’ with an assist from Tems and Justin Bieber, riding the charts for a total of 35 weeks. His latest entry was scored on Chris Brown’s ‘Call Me Everyday’ on July 9, 2022.

Tems (5 entries, 1 number-one hit)

This formidable songwriter captured the world with her striking vocals after she was discovered globally on Wizkid’s ‘Essence’ which debuted on the charts in July. By September, she made her second trip with her hands held by Drake on ‘Fountain’ which peaked within the top 30 at number 26. Fast forward to May 2022, her song ‘Higher’ was sampled on Future’s ‘Wait for U.’ It debuted at number one and ran for 41 weeks before retiring from the chart. Working on the ‘Renaissance’ album with Beyonce, Tems scored an entry with ‘Move,’ lasting just a week with a number 55 peak. Tems’ solo moment was gained with the viral ‘Free Mind’ which debuted at number 90 and peaked at number 46.

Burna Boy (5 entries)

Maintaining an impressive streak from last year following the release of ‘I Told Them…’ that spurned an entry —‘Sittin’ On Top of the World’ — peaking at number 80, Burna becomes the first Nigerian afrobeats act to achieve an entry this year with 21 Savage’s ‘Just Like You’ which sits pretty with a number 67 debut. Prior to ‘Sittin’ On Top of the World,’ the ‘Bank On It’ star enjoyed a week-long stay on the charts with ‘Taliban II.’ His longest-running effort on the chart (19 weeks) is the Toni Braxton-inspired ‘Last Last.’ His first entry on the charts was via Justin Bieber’s ‘Loved By You’ which only spent a week peaking at number 87.

Rema (1 entry)

For a total of 57 weeks, Rema and his collaborator Selena Gomez warmed the hearts of millions with their enthralling love tale woven in ‘Calm Down.’ Originally performed solo, Gomez’s star power added more traction to the song via addition to playlists on streaming platforms. Being a fun tune to make reels to, it earned viral status. The song peaked at number 3.

CKay (1 entry)

CKay’s ‘Love Nwantiti’ is a classic case of ‘from obscure to popular.’  Beloved globally, the song received acclaim and inspired content creators to reproduce the song in different languages. It was the epitome of universality.

After spending over 30 weeks on the chart, the song peaked at number 15.

Fireboy DML (1 entry) Spending a total of 15 weeks on the chart, Fireboy peaked at number 53 with the Ed Sheeran-assisted ‘Peru.’ Just like ‘Calm Down,’ the song was first released as a solo performance.