Every music fan from Africa is curious to know who the wealthiest and most successful musicians on our continent are! Of course, Africa is full of amazing talents, but there are some who are especially great and have earned impressive money for their ability to touch people’s hearts with their music. Here is a rating of Top 5 richest musician in Africa! See who is the richest musician of all on the African continent!
op 5 richest singers in Africa
Music can bring you great income if you are a special singer who is able to produce outstanding tunes. The experiences of these amazing artistes only confirm that nothing is impossible. They continue popularizing African music and showing the world how special it can be. No wonder that they are the richest in Africa when it comes to their profession. Read about five richest musicians in Africa and get inspired by their fascinating life stories!
5. Tinashe – net worth $6 million
Tinashe Jorgensen Kachingwe, who is known just by her first name Tinashe, is a gorgeous and very talented American singer, who is an African descent. Her father, Michael Kachingwe, is a professor of acting and he is from Shona ethnic group of Zimbabwe. She also has Danish, Norwegian, Italian, English, and Irish roots through her mother, Aimie. The name “Tinashe” translates as “We are with God” in Shona language.
The American singer with African heart was born on February 6, 1993, in Lexington, Kentucky state, but at a young age, she moved to Los Angeles, where she started her career in the entertainment. She got some notable roles in movies, such as “The Polar Express”, “Out of Jimmy’s Head”, and “Two and a Half Men.”
Fame came to Tinashe when she became a member of the girls band “The Stunners”. This group existed from 2007 to 2011 and later disbanded. Tinashe decided to start a solo career, and released two mixtapes of her own, called “In Case We Die” and “Reverie”, both in 2012. As they became successful, Tinashe signed with the label RCA Records and released her third mixtape “Black Water.” The debut single from this mixtape, “2 On”, was a commercial success for the artist. Inspired by her strong debut, Tinashe released her first studio album called “Aquarius” (2014), which was also highly praised by critics and gained her a lot of nominations. Two years later, in 2016, she released another breakthrough album, “Nightride”, and the third album “Joyride” came out in 2018. She also got a chance to collaborate with some famous superstars, like Calvin Harris and Travis Scott.
The singer describes her tunes as “rhythmic pop” with the elements of pop, R&B, and hip-hop, while the critics label her music as “dark, alluring, and dangerous”. Tinashe deserves to be called one of the brightest young stars of our time. Despite her young age, which is only 25 years old, she definitely achieved a lot and continues to work hard on her career. Currently, Tinashe is the fifth richest singer in Africa, which is definitely an achievement.
4. Wizkid – net worth $12 million
Wizkid is one of the examples that a Nigerian can promote their music worldwide and become popular all over the planet. Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, which is the real name of Wizkid, was born on July 16, 1990, in Surulere, Lagos. He started making music very early in his life when he was eleven years old. His early career beginnings were in the gospel music genre when he became a part of the group “Glorious Five.” However, he later decided that he needed to move on and create his own music.
2009 was the year when Wizkid signed his first deal with the famous record label “Empire Mates Entertainment” and started releasing songs under its name. The song that made him famous in Nigeria was “Holla at your Boy”, which was a single from his first album “Superstar” (2011). He later released a few more great songs that were warmly accepted by the public. Wizkid decided to work on his next album, and in 2014 he released his second album “Ayo.”
Probably, the highest moment in Wizkid’s career was when his talent was discovered on the international level after his song “One Dance” in collaboration with worldwide famous rapper Drake. This super hit reached the number one peak in the charts of fifteen countries, including United States, Canada, Australia, and United Kingdom. He also collaborated with some famous Nigerian artistes. All of his hard work led to him becoming incredibly rich, getting a lot of awards, and signing a profitable deal with RCA Records.
Wizkid is one of the most influential stars not only in Nigeria but also in Africa. He is the first afrobeat musician to appear in the Guinness World Records for the song “One Dance” and his contribution to it. He has a huge fan base and is widely called “Starboy”, which is also the name of his own label that he started.
3. Davido – net worth $16 million
Probably the biggest competitor of Wizkid on the Nigerian stage is the talented musician Davido. His full name is David Adedeji Adeleke, and he was born on November 21, 1992. Even though his birthplace is Atlanta in the United States, his family is Nigerian, and they moved back to their native country when Davido was young. Davido’s father is a well-known Nigerian businessman, and his late mother used to be a university lecturer. Even though Davido’s father wanted him to be focused on his education, the young man wanted to record his own music and become a superstar.
The Nigerian public first noticed Davido when he released the single “Dami Duro” in 2011. Enlightened by his sudden success, Davido started working on his music album “Omo Baba Olowo” and other songs. He also began cooperating with the other prominent Nigerian and American artists. Currently, Davido has released multiple songs, most of which are great hits among the Nigerian public. Except for being a singer, he is also a popular songwriter, who has worked on the songs for Tiwa Savage, Skales, Sauce Kid, and Naeto C. Davido also has plenty of endorsement deals that bring him huge money, a profitable deal with Sony Music and RCA Records, and his own music label Davido Music Worldwide (DMW).
Davido’s songs are usually in afrobeat and Afropop styles, and he is truly an icon of these music. He is not just the beloved singer of many Nigerians but also internationally recognized music star – in 2018, he received his first award at the BET Awards, which is a prestigious American award that was created to support the African and African-American artists.
2. Don Jazzy – net worth $35 million
Everyone knows how influential Don Jazzy is and how much effort he made to create the innovational African music. Michael Collins Ajereh, which is the real name of this singer, is not just a musician but also a producer and a successful entrepreneur. He originates from Delta State, Nigeria, even though he was born in Abia State on November 26, 1982. His parents later moved to Lagos, where he was raised. Don Jazzy discovered his passionate interest in music when he was a teenager. He moved away to London and had a lot of jobs there before he learned the art of producing at the O-Town record company.
Eventually, Don Jazzy decided to collaborate with the fellow artist D’Banj to create a music label called Mo’Hits Records. This label was really successful and well-known for many years and helped to develop Don Jazzy’s career, as well as discovered a lot of new potential superstars. However, in 2012, the creative differences between Don Jazzy and D’Banj have become too much, and they have abandoned their label.
However, Don Jazzy did not rest. The successful entrepreneur started the brand new label called Mavin Records. In the short time, he has gathered and promoted a lot of music stars there, including Tiwa Savage, Reekado Banks, Wande Coal, D’Prince, Dr SID, Di’Ja, and many others. Don Jazzy maintains a close friendship with all the Mavin Records artistes and is a helping hand in mentoring them. The Mavin Records team often gets the new talented additions.
Don Jazzy creates his music mostly in pop, Afropop, African hip-hop, and R&B genres. His songs are always so close to African culture and tune, which is why he is so popular on the continent and beyond. He has a lot of devoted fans who love his music and the music of his Mavin Records co-stars.
Don Jazzy is the second on the list of the richest musicians in Africa and is the richest Nigerian musician in 2018.
1. Akon – net worth $80 million
The landslide leader of our rating is Akon, who is currently the richest musician in Africa. The full name of this singer and rapper is Aliaume Damala Badara Akon Thiam. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the United States, on April 16, 1973. However, he is of Senegalese descent. Most of his childhood was spent in Senegal, where he learned the basics of music from his parents, who were a musician and a dancer respectively, and mastered five instruments. Later, the family moved back to the United States, where he started pursuing his career.
Akon is a founder of two music record labels, called Konvict Muzik and Kon Live Distribution. He has become the first solo music artist to have the number one and two spots at the same time on Billboard Hot 100 chart – and not once, but twice. He has plenty of platinum song records. He sings not only in English but also in Spanish, Hindi, and Tamil. Akon has worked with the numerous worldwide superstars, like Michael Jackson, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Gwen Stefani, and Whitney Houston. He also was a song producer for Lady Gaga, Leona Lewis, T-Pain, and many others.
Akon is a recognized artist in R&B, hip-hop, and pop music. He has three successful music albums and a huge amount of fans, who support his records. He also had five Grammy Awards nominations. Africa is really proud of such an artist.
These are the richest musicians in Africa! Have you expected to see these names on this list, or maybe you had someone else in mind? Do you enjoy the music that these singers produce? Never hesitate to say your thing in the comment section.
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