Forbes Africa has released its list of the top 10 richest African musicians with Nigeria dominating the the list.
The list by Forbes was put together based on several factors. The wealth if the musicians were ranked based on endorsement value, popularity, show rates, sales, awards, YouTube views, appearance in newspapers, investment, social media presence and more
The list is featured in the May edition of Forbes, which looks at the music industry on the continent. “For long,” says Forbes managing editor Chris Bishop, “music has been a part of business in Africa. With this issue not only did we want to come up with another much talked-about Forbes list, we also wanted to focus on how musicians made their money.
In case you need even more reasons to pick up our @forbesafrica May issue, here's a word from our Managing Editor, @ChrisBishopZA #FAonShelf pic.twitter.com/d4ahcZVsol
— Forbes Africa (@forbesafrica) May 8, 2017
The top 10 richest African musicians according to Forbes:
1. Akon tops the list with over 35 million albums sold worldwide. He has won numerous awards including five Grammy Award nominations and has 45 Billboard Hot 100 songs under his belt.
2. Black Coffee from South Africa. The multi-award-winning artist’s real name is Nkosinathi Maphumulo and is from South Africa.
3. Hugh Masekela fro South Africa has released more than 43 albums.
4. Don Jazzy from Nigeria is ranked fourth richest in Africa and first in Nigeria, according to Premium Times. His real name is Michael Collins Ajereh who was born in Nigeria and currently resides in the UK.
5. Tinashe Zimbabwe-American
Tinashe was a child model by the age of three. The twenty-four-year-old sang before she could talk and made her first appearance in 2000 in the film Cora Unashamed. Her voice also starred in the cartoon feature film The Polar Express alongside Oscar-winning actor, Tom Hanks.
6. Jidenna who is a Nigerian-American was ranked 6th on the list by Forbes Africa.
7. Wizkid from Nigeria
Wizkid is arguably currently the uncrowned king of African music. Grammy Award-winning artist, Alicia Keys and husband Swizz Beatz, danced to his songs Ojuelegba and Caro, with Keys posting a video on her Instagram account with the caption, “This song makes me happy”. Kylie Jenner also posted a video of herself dancing to Wizkid’s music on Snapchat.
8. Davido from Nigeria was ranked 8th. He became famous for his widely acclaimed 2012 debut album “Omo Baba Olowo”.
9. Sarkodie from Ghana whose real name is Michael Owusu Addo is a big advocate of Azonto, a Ghanaian genre that is said to have been born out of Kpanlogo, a traditional dance. Sarkodie is the first Ghanaian to win a BET award.
10. Oliver Mtukudzi from Zimbabwe
Not only is he known for his music, he is also a businessman, philanthropist, human rights activist and a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Southern African Region. He is considered the country’s most renowned and internationally recognised cultural icon of all time.
