Billboard is teaming up with festival company Afro Nation to launch America’s first ever Afrobeats chart, it says.

It will go live on 29 March and rank the top 50 most popular Afrobeats songs in the country based on streams and downloads.

“The last decade has seen Afrobeats explode into a worldwide phenomenon, influencing culture and fashion across the globe and I am humbled to have made a contribution to growing the genre alongside many talented, passionate people,” Billboard quotes Afro Nation founder, Obi Asika, as saying.

US magazine Billboard publishes music charts showing the most popular albums and songs in various genres.

“As with much of the world, Afrobeats has grown tremendously as a genre in America and we are proud to showcase the top songs and artists with this new weekly ranking,” Billboard executive, Silvio Pietroluongo, said.

Several Afrobeats songs have had international success recently including Ckay’s Love Nwantiti, Fireboy DML’s Peru and Wizkid’s Essence. (BBC)

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