Omanghana
Grammy-winning Nigerian singer Burna Boy has reportedly surpassed Wizkid to become the leading African artist in equivalent album sales during the modern streaming era.
Figures attributed to music analytics platform Chart Masters place Burna Boy’s career total at 14.46 million equivalent album sales, narrowly ahead of Wizkid’s reported 14.40 million units.
Equivalent Album Sales, commonly known as EAS, combine multiple forms of music consumption into a single measurement. The system converts physical album purchases, digital downloads, individual song sales and audio and video streams into album-equivalent units.
The figures therefore do not represent traditional album purchases alone. They provide an estimate of how an artist’s entire catalogue has performed across different formats and platforms.
Burna Boy’s rise has been driven by successful projects including African Giant, Twice as Tall, Love, Damini and I Told Them…. Hit songs such as “Ye,” “On the Low” and “Last Last” have also strengthened his global streaming numbers.
Wizkid remains close behind, supported by the sustained international popularity of albums such as Superstar, Ayo and Made in Lagos. The narrow gap means the ranking could change as both artists continue attracting listeners worldwide.
Burna Boy’s streaming profile received a further boost in 2026 following the release of “Dai Dai,” his collaboration with Colombian superstar Shakira. The song was released as an official anthem for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and later recorded an additional surge in global streams following the tournament’s final halftime show.
The Nigerian star has also reached a new career peak on Spotify. His official profile showed approximately 58.8 million monthly listeners at the time of reporting, reflecting the increased international attention surrounding the World Cup anthem.
Reports also indicate that Burna Boy’s monthly audience across YouTube Music exceeded 800 million. That measurement represents the broader audience reached by music featuring the artist across the platform and should not be confused with 800 million individual subscribers or monthly listeners.
The latest figures highlight the expanding global influence of Afrobeats and the growing commercial strength of African music in the digital marketplace. They also reflect Burna Boy and Wizkid’s central roles in introducing contemporary Nigerian music to audiences beyond the continent.
While the EAS ranking concerns modern consumption estimates, it should not be presented as a definitive comparison with every African artist’s historically reported physical record sales. Traditional sales claims from the pre-streaming era are often based on different methods and may not be directly comparable with current analytics.
Source: Omanghana
