Apple Music Africa Now Best Songs 2025: Burna Boy’s “Love” tops the list, with Asake, Davido, Rema, Wizkid & rising star FOLA dominating Afrobeats’ biggest year.
As 2025 draws to a close, Apple Music’s official “Africa Now: Best Songs of the Year” playlist has spoken and Afrobeats has never sounded this dominant, diverse, or defiant. Ten tracks, zero fillers.
Here’s why this list is the definitive soundtrack of the continent right now.
Leading the pack at #1 is Burna Boy’s “Love,” a mid-tempo masterpiece that blends his signature Afro-fusion with raw vulnerability. Released mid-year, it became the ultimate wedding and proposal song across Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya, racking up over 600 million streams in six months.
That gravelly hook— If no be you, I no want love” is now tattooed on more arms than we can count.
Asake holds the silver medal with “WHY LOVE,” a philosophical Amapiano laced banger that questions toxic relationships while making you two-step at the same time.
The track’s log drum and Yoruba proverbs went viral on TikTok, spawning the #WhyLoveChallenge that even grandmothers joined.
Davido makes two appearances, proving he’s still the king of collaborations. “With You” featuring Omah Lay is pure R&B nostalgia—a slow-burn duet about ride-or-die romance that dominated Valentine’s playlists.
His second entry, “Funds” with ODUMODUBLVCK and Chike, is the opposite: a braggadocious street anthem celebrating wealth and loyalty, complete with Igbo rap verses and gospel-tinged harmonies.
Rema’s “Baby (Is It A Crime)” sits pretty at #4, continuing his global takeover. The song’s infectious “Calm down” spiritual successor mixes Afro-rave with Bollywood strings, becoming the most Shazamed African track in India this year.
Rising star FOLA makes history with two entries in the same top 10, an unheard of feat for a newcomer. “lost” with Kizz Daniel is melancholic Afropop gold about heartbreak and redemption, while “Very Soon” alongside BNXN (Buju) is the motivational street hymn every hustler added to their morning playlist.
Seyi Vibez reps the streets hard with “MARIO KART,” a fast-paced record comparing life’s hustle to the Nintendo game—sharp turns, power-ups, and never looking back.
He also appears on the star-studded “99” with Olamide, Asake, and Young Jonn, a chaotic, celebratory posse cut that feels like a Lagos carnival in audio form.
Wizkid rounds out the list at #9 with “Bad Girl” featuring Asake, the most anticipated link-up of the year. It’s moody, minimalist, and addictive; the moment Wiz croons “She’s a bad girl, but she’s my bad girl,” clubs from London to Johannesburg lose their minds.
This top 10 isn’t just a list—it’s a movement. It proves Afrobeats has fully matured: blending introspection with party starters, street credibility with global appeal, and Yoruba, Igbo, and Pidgin into a universal language.
From Burna’s throne to FOLA’s meteoric rise, 2025 belonged to Africa, and these 10 songs were the soundtrack.