Previously, we could only rely on Kidjo and a few other artists when it came to promoting African sounds and culture. In 2024, Kidjo was in good company. As we look back at the biggest cultural moments of 2024, from the Grammys to the Met Gala to the Olympics, it’s impossible to ignore the many African women who were at the center of it all. Here are some highlights. In February, Tyra won her first Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance for her viral pop hit “Water.” Three months later, she turned heads at the Met Gala wearing a custom-made Balmain dress that looked like a sand sculpture. After working with Rihanna, Beyoncé, and Drake, Thames has released her long-awaited soulful debut album, Born in the Wild. At the Olympics, Aya Nakamura, who was born in Mali and raised in France, took center stage at the opening ceremony. Ira Starr, who sings in English, Yoruba, Nigerian Pidgin and French, released her second album before dominating the festival circuit all summer long.
As we look back at the biggest cultural moments of 2024, we can’t ignore the many African women who were at the center of it all.
For the past decade, African music around the world has been dominated by Afrobeats. Afrobeats is a catchy rhythmic genre made most popular by Burna Boy, Wizkid, and Davido. Although there were some successful women, such as Tiwa Savage, the “Queen of Afrobeats,” the genre was dominated by men. In recent years, a new crop of female artists has emerged, mixing sounds ranging from Starr’s pop sound to Thames’ sultry RnB-adjacent sound to Tyra’s clubby Amapiano. Their rise in pop culture has reminded us that there is no one way to express Africanness or Africanness.
French-Malian singer Aya Coco Danioko, also known as Aya Nakamura, in Paris in April.Photo: Julian De Rosa/Getty Images
