The Official UK Afrobeats Chart Is Launching This Weekend

The past few years have been enormously triumphant for the Afrobeats scene, finding footholds around the world and in turn birthing off-shoots on just about every continent. Now, that global influence has been set in stone in the UK, with the launch of the Official UK Afrobeats Chart—a new weekly Top 20 rundown compiled by the Official Charts Company.

The chart will be compiled using UK sales and streaming data from over 9,000 outlets, collating numbers from physical sales, downloads, audio streams and video streams. The first edition of the charts will be launched on BBC Radio 1Xtra with The Official UK Afrobeats Show on Sunday, July 26 from 1pm-3pm. The one-off show will be hosted by comedian and presenter Eddie Kadi, sports and entertainment broadcaster Shopsy Doo, Afrobeats DJ P Montana, and writer and broadcaster Danai Mavunga. Subsequent Top 20 charts will be published every Sunday at 2pm via a weekly Official UK Afrobeats Chart playlist on Spotify. There will also be a weekly video edition on the Afro Nation and Official Charts socials, with the full chart published on OfficialCharts.com.

Kofi ‘Funkz’ Kyei, who played a key role in the chart’s creation and is the Head Of Marketing at MOVES Recordings, says: “It has been amazing to witness over the past decade the sheer growth in African music being welcomed by the UK and the international market. A scene that defines a culture, a people and countless generations, its music has soundtracked underground culture for years, being the go-to sound in clubs, parties and communities in a way that’s shaped our very culture. For too long, Afrobeats artists have had to work tirelessly to get their voices heard and now African music/Afrobeats is finally being seen as a leading sound.”