Tems has officially joined African female artistes to surpass 1 billion streams on the music streaming app, Spotify.
She achieved the distinguished list for her contribution to American rap artist Future’s WAIT FOR U, which also featured Canadian superstar Drake.
The track, which was a sample of Tems’ 2020 song ‘Higher,’ was featured on Future’s album I NEVER LIKED YOU and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
It later won Best Melodic Rap Performance at the 2023 Grammy Awards, marking Tems’ first Grammy win.
As routine as it has become in these conversations, Spotify especially has been instrumental, and it’s impossible to understate the role of streaming in the global reach of pop music by African artists.
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The streaming platform has created dedicated playlists and programming for Afrobeats and amapiano while also expanding its footprint on the continent.
There are 887 songs so far on the billion streams list on Spotify, a very tiny fraction of the millions of songs on the streaming platform.
Which points out how difficult it is for a song to reach that coveted number.
While it took subsequent years of Afrobeats’ growth as a major part of the global pop music landscape, it still took some time for a song by an African artist to reach that milestone.
Notably to trace this success streaming stories to “One Dance,” Drake’s megahit featuring Nigerian singer Wizkid and Filipino artist Kyla.
It was the first song to hit a billion streams on Spotify, a milestone that was achieved by its dalliance with Afrobeats.
Meanwhile, the first song on the Billions Club to be spearheaded by an African artist was Rema’s “Calm Down” remix with American Mexican singer Selena Gomez.
So far, two female African artists have joined Spotify’s Billions Club in recent times.
South Africa’s Amapiano princess Tyla became the first African artist to reach the billion streams milestone with a solo effort for her 2023 smash hit “Water.”
However, beyond music, Tems has been making major moves in 2025, which continue to redefine global success for African artists.
With two Grammy wins, she recently joined San Diego Football Club’s ownership group.
She will also join Idris Elba to headline SXSW London on June 5.
