On September 22, 2025, Spotify launched Afrobeats: Culture in Motion, a global project that captures the genre’s journey over the past five years and the people carrying it into the future. In the last year alone, Afrobeats has sparked more than 240 million discoveries on Spotify worldwide, underscoring just how deeply the sound resonates across continents. At the center of the project is Culture in Motion, a new Spotify documentary that follows the next wave of Afrobeats artists, tracing their creative process and the vibrant energy shaping the movement. Alongside the film, Spotify has also created an immersive microsite hosted on Spotify’s newsroom, For the Record. The microsite breaks down the movement across five pillars with exclusive interviews, expert context, and fresh Spotify listening data.

What the microsite reveals: The findings reveal a genre in constant motion. Afrobeats is becoming more introspective, with emotionally charged vocals now accounting for38% of global streams. Its global reach has accelerated dramatically, particularly in Latin America where listenership has grown by more than 180% in the last year, with Brazil alone seeing a staggering 500% increase since 2020.  Women continue to lead from the front: Temsis the first African female artist to surpass one billion streams on a single track, while Ayra Starr’s streams in Nigeria have skyrocketed by over 3,000% since 2020. 

Beyond the music, Afrobeats has also carved a visual identity that rivals its sound. Rema’sBenin-inspired set design at London’s O2 Arena and Tems’ standout appearances at the Oscars and the Met Gala illustrate how style and spectacle have become part of the cultural fabric. Perhaps most striking is the role of fans.

For Nigeria, the birthplace of Afrobeats, the story carries a special weight. In 2025, Nigerian listeners streamed more than 180 million hours of Afrobeats, with Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt leading the way. Gen Z in particular are defining how the genre is experienced, gravitating toward moods like “whiny,” “island vibes,” and “playful” as their top listening themes. Beyond mainstream Afrobeats, local innovation is thriving: Afro-Adura, a subgenre blending street pop with spirituality, has exploded with **over 4,000%**growth in streams. Meanwhile, fan-made Afrobeats playlists have grown nearly 3,000% in the last decade, a testament to how a community-driven movement born in Nigeria has become a global force.

Through the documentary, microsite, and dedicated Afrobeats Destination on Spotify, Culture in Motion captures both the scale and intimacy of a sound that has become one of the world’s most defining cultural exports rooted in Nigeria but moving everywhere.