Musically speaking, only a handful of musicians are going to make the biggest moves in the coming months as 2024 kicks into gear.
You can tell which musicians are destined for greatness in 2024 judging by the projects they initiated in the past year, the accolades they won and their proven ability to deliver.
Below is a list of the top five musicians you absolutely need to have on your radar for 2024:
Maandy
Secular singer Amanda Wambui aka Maandy was among a handful of musicians who dominated the airwaves in 2023.
She has been in the game for a couple of years but it is safe to say her star shone brighter in 2023 and perhaps 2024 is the year she blows up like a nuclear explosion.
Maandy’s hit song ‘Bubbly Bubbly‘ is among the club bangers that kept revellers on their feet dancing whenever it was played in 2023.
Maandy put in more work in 2023 and reaped big from her efforts. You can only expect her to drop more deadly bangers in 2024 if she keeps doing what she did last year.
Sofiya Nzau
Sofiya Nzau created a song that became a global hit and even overshadowed her, creating a situation where people know her vocals but not her as a person.
Nzau created the vocals for ‘Mwaki’, a Kikuyu song that went viral and she was not even credited for it.
‘Mwaki‘ went viral on TikTok as netizens reacted to it while others shared their renditions of the song.
Interestingly, Brazilian producer Zerb was credited for the song and not Sofiya.
What happened was that, over the years, Sofiya Nzau had been doing vocal packs and placing them on various websites where artistes and songwriters just picked. That’s where the Brazilian producer who did the song ‘Mwaki’ got the vocals from, made the beat for the song, and made it a hit.
The fact that Sofiya Nzau went global with her vocals demonstrated how her raw talent was untapped for years. But 2024 is hers to conquer.
Marakwet Daughter
Marakwet Daughter shot to instant fame when she released her song ‘Mali Safi Chito‘ last year.
The song not only permeated the air around entertainment joints but also became the favourite wedding song of 2023.
The success of her hit song opened doors for Marakwet Daughter to perform on stages many musicians of her cadre can only dream of.
If she still has the mojo to compose songs that defy music genres, Marakwet Daughter is definitely looking at a brighter future in 2024.
Bien
Sauti Sol held their final performance as a group on November 4, 2023, before they each went their separate ways as the band disintegrated.
Following the split, Sauti Sol’s lead singer Bien quickly launched his solo career.
Bien had been working on his first solo album even as Sauti Sol was in the process of splitting. He gradually released some of his songs from the new solo album dubbed “Alusa Why Are You Topless?”.
Bien officially released his debut solo album ‘Alusa Why Are You Topless?’ on November 17, 2023, and it took over the music scene like a ferocious tsunami.
All of the songs in Bien’s new album topped the local music charts.
With Sauti Sol taking an indefinite music hiatus, Bien is undoubtedly going to unleash his solo music career in 2024 like never seen before.
Wakadinali
Hip Hop group Wakadinali was featured as the sole Kenyan artistes on Spotify’s top streamed list, landing at number eight in the inaugural report wrapped 2023.
Wakadinali also emerged as the most searched artistes in Kenya on Spotify, and their album Ndani ya Cockpit 3 ranks number 10 as the most streamed album.
The top 10 most streamed artistes in Kenya in 2023 ranked chronologically included; Drake, Burna Boy, 21 Savage, Ayra Starr, Chris Brown, Travis Scott, Wakadinali, The Weeknd, Metro Boomin and Future, respectively.
The incredible feat by Wakadinali proves the hip hop group is a force to reckon with in the music industry. And if they are still pulling those crazy numbers in terms of music streams, then it means 2024 is theirs for the taking.
