2024 in African music

See also: Timeline of musical events

The following is a list of events and releases that happened in 2024 in African music.

Events

• January 15 – Qing Madi, OdumoduBlvck, Bloody Civilian, and Tyla are inducted into Apple Music's Rising Class of 2024. ^[1]
• January 19 – Rwandan singer Bruce Melodie and his manager announce his investment in United Generation Basketball. ^[2]
• February 4 – At the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, the Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance are awarded for the first time. Nominees are Asake & Olamide – "Amapiano"; Burna Boy – "City Boys"; Davido ft. Musa Keys – "Unavailable"; Ayra Starr – "Rush"; and Tyla – "Water" ^[3] The winner of the African Music category is Tyla. ^[4] Burna Boy, who is nominated for the Best Melodic Rap Performance, also performs live during the ceremony. ^[5]
• March 23 – AFRIMA President Mike Dada announces the launch of BridgeAfric Southern Africa. ^[6]
• June 25 – Davido, a year after confirming that he has married his partner, Chioma Rowland, holds a formal ceremony in Victoria Island, Lagos, attended by many prominent figures. ^[7]
• November 4 – Rwandan-born singer, rapper and writer Gaël Faye is awarded the Prix Renaudot for his novel Jacaranda. ^[8]
• November 7 – The Feather Awards winners, announced in Johannesburg, South Africa, include Zoë Modiga as Best Musician. ^[9]

Albums released in 2024

Release date	Artist	Album	Genre	Label	Ref
February 16	Les Amazones d'Afrique	Musow Danse	Mande Music/Electropop	Real World Records	[10]
February 23	Aziza Brahim	Mawja		Glitterbeat	[11]
February 23	The Soil	Reimagined	Kasi soul		[12]
March 22	Tyla	Tyla	amapiano and fusion of Western pop, hip hop and R&B	Fax and Epic Records	[13] [14]
May 31	Ayra Starr	The Year I Turned 21	Afrobeats	RCA	[15]
June 7	Tems	Born in the Wild	R&B and Afrobeats	Fantasy Records	[16]
August 9	Asake	Lungu Boy	Afropiano and Afrofusion
August 29	Fireboy DML	Adedamola	Pop , Contemporary R&B and Afrobeats
October 11	Elaine (singer)	Stone Heart Cold	Contemporary R&B
November 15	Khuzani	Angidlali Nezingane	Maskandi		[17]
November 22	Wizkid	Morayo (album)	R&B , Afrobeats

Deaths

• January 29 – Tony Cedras, 71, South African jazz musician ^[18]
• February 21 – Getachew Kassa, 79, Ethiopian percussionist and singer ^[19]
• March 3 – Félix Sabal Lecco, 64/5, Cameroonian drummer ^[20]
• March 5 – Brahim Fribgane, Moroccan oud player and percussionist ^[21] (death announced on this date)
• March 8 – Abdou Cherif, 52, Moroccan singer (heart attack) ^[22]
• April 9 – Muluken Melesse, 65-70, Ethiopian singer and drummer ^[23]
• April 21 – KODA, 45, Ghanaian gospel singer. ^[24]
• May 1 – Hasna El-Bacharia, 74, Algerian singer and multi-instrumentalist ^[25]
• May 5 – Belgacem Bouguenna, 61, Tunisian singer ^[26]
• May 15 – Ahmed Piro, 92, Moroccan singer of Andalusi classical music ^[27]
• May 29 – Mansour Seck, 69, Senegalese singer ^[28]
• June 30 – Lucius Banda, 53, Malawian musician and former MP ^[29]
• July 19 – Toumani Diabaté, 58, Malian kora player ^[30]
• August 27 – Makaya Ntshoko, 84, South African jazz drummer ^[31]
• September 6 (death announced) – Mapaputsi (Sandile Ngwenya), 45, South African Kwaito musician ^[32]
• September 17 – Rise Kagona, 62, Zimbabwean musician (Bhundu Boys) ^[33]
• October 2 – Arbogaste Mbella Ntone, 82, Cameroonian singer ^[34]
• December 3 – Jan Bloukaas, 25, South African singer (brain cancer) ^[35]
• December 7 – Steady Bongo, 58, Sierra Leonean musician and record producer (road accident) ^[36]
• December 11 – Corinne Allal, 69, Tunisian-born Israeli rock musician and music producer (pancreatic cancer) ^[37]
• December 13 – Koko Ateba, age unknown, Cameroonian singer and guitarist ^[38]

See also

• 2024 in music

References

1. Adebiyi, Adeayo (2024-01-12). "Odumodu Blvck, Tyla, Qing Madi among Apple Music's Africa Rising Class of '24". Pulse Nigeria. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
2. Emmanuel Gatera (January 19, 2024). "It's a 'forever' deal, investor coach Gael on Bruce Melodie's partnership with UGB". The New Times. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
3. "2024 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Full Nominees List | GRAMMY.com". www.grammy.com. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
4. Retief, Chanel (5 February 2024). "South African Singer Tyla Wins Her First Grammy, Making Her The Youngest From Africa To Hold The Gong". Forbes Africa . Retrieved 10 November 2023.
5. Grein, Paul (January 21, 2024). "Travis Scott, Luke Combs & Burna Boy Added to 2024 Grammys Performers Lineup". Billboard . Archived from the original on January 22, 2024. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
6. "All Africa Music Awards,(AFRIMA) President speaks on fostering collaboration within African music community as BridgeAfric launches in Malawi". African Business. 21 March 2024. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
7. Adeyemi, Segun (2024-06-25). "Obasanjo and other Nigerian politicians spotted at Davido's wedding". Pulse Nigeria. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
8. "Le prix Renaudot récompense Gaël Faye pour « Jacaranda »" (in French). 2024-11-04. Retrieved 2024-11-05.
9. "Feather Awards 2024 in SA: All the winners". Music in Africa. 8 November 2024. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
10. "Les Amazones d'Afrique – Musow Danse". Mojo . March 2024. p. 87.
11. "Mawja". Joyzine. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
12. Pasiya, Lutho (2024-01-26). "WATCH: The Soil returns to the music scene after seven-year hiatus". Independent Online. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
13. "Tyla Announced Her Self-Titled Debut Album By Revealing Three New Songs From Its Tracklist". Uproxx . 2023-11-30. Archived from the original on 2 December 2023. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
14. "When Does Tyla's Debut Album Come Out?". UPROXX. 2023-12-05. Archived from the original on 6 December 2023. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
15. Smith, Niall (2024-06-07). "Tems – 'Born In The Wild' album review: soulful, spiritual and self-assured". NME. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
16. "SEETHER Announces 'The Surface Seems So Far' Album, Shares New Single 'Judas Mind'". Blabbermouth.net. July 10, 2024. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
17. "Angidlali Nezingane". Deezer. November 15, 2024. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
18. "Jazz musician Tony Cedras dies". Times Live. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
19. "Ethiopia's Iconic Singer, Getachew Kassa, Dies at 80". 2024.
20. RFI (6 March 2024). "Le batteur franco-camerounais Félix Sabal-Lecco est décédé". Radio France International. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
21. "Club d'Elf collaborator Brahim Fribgane has died". Jambase. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
22. "Moroccan Singer Abdou Cherif Dies Due to Heart Attack". Morocco World News. 8 March 2024. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
23. "Ethiopian singer Muluken Melese has died, according to reports". National News. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
24. "Gospel musician KODA reported dead - MyJoyOnline". www.myjoyonline.com. 2024-04-21. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
25. Lamiss, Kahina (1 May 2024). "La chanteuse Hasna El-Bacharia n'est plus". L'Express DZ (in French). Retrieved 3 May 2024.
26. "Décès de l'artiste Belgacem Bouguenna". Business News. Retrieved 6 May 2024.(in French)
27. Tabet, Marouane (16 May 2024). "Haj Ahmed Piro, grand maître du gharnati, nous a quittés". H24info (in French). Retrieved 19 May 2024.
28. "Décès de Mansour Seck, choriste et cofondateur du Dandé Léñol (Baba Maal)". Agence de Presse Senegalaise (in French).
29. "Malawi mourns veteran reggae singer Lucius Banda". Music in Africa. 1 July 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
30. "Nécrologie : l'artiste Toumani Diabaté est décédé à l'âge de 58 ans". journal du mali (in French). Retrieved 20 July 2024.
31. "Jazz community mourns death of renowned SA drummer Makaya Ntshoko". Citizen.za. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
32. "Kwaito legend Mapaputsi passes on at 45". YFM. 6 September 2024. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
33. "Bhundu Boys member Rise Kagona dies". The Herald, Zimbabwe. September 19, 2024. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
34. "Nécrologie : décès de l'instrumentiste camerounais Arbogaste Mbella Ntone". Actu Cameroun (in French). 2 October 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
35. Ontong, Joel. "'His music lives on': Beloved Afrikaans star Jan Bloukaas dies at 25 after courageous cancer battle". News24. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
36. "President Bio mourns Steady Bongo's death …describing it as a significant loss for Sierra Leone". AYV News. December 13, 2024. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
37. Barr, Neria (12 December 2024). "Israeli rock icon Corinne Allal dies at 69 after cancer battle". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
38. Atcha, Marturin (13 December 2024). "Nécrologie: la chanteuse et guitariste camerounaise Koko Ateba est morte". Actu Cameroun (in French). Retrieved 13 December 2024.