The old route to fame ran through a talent show, a radio DJ or a label boss who happened to be in the club. Today a phone is enough. Many of today’s biggest names are African stars discovered on social media: a freestyle on Instagram, a dance clip that would not stop spreading, a cover posted on a slow afternoon. In more than one case the person who saw it was a label owner who sent a message the same day.
Here are ten African stars discovered on social media, and the posts that changed their lives.
1. Rema: the Instagram freestyle that got him flown to Lagos
Divine Ikubor was a teenager in Benin City, singing in churches, when he posted a freestyle on Instagram over D’Prince’s song “Gucci Gang”. D’Prince saw it, flew him to Lagos and signed him to Jonzing World, a label under Don Jazzy’s Mavin Records. His self-titled EP topped Apple Music’s Nigerian chart in 2019, and “Dumebi” became his breakout song.
Three years later Rema‘s “Calm Down” went to number three on the Billboard Hot 100 with Selena Gomez and spent a record 58 weeks at number one on the US Afrobeats chart. Not bad for a cover clip.
2. Ayra Starr: one song, one message from Don Jazzy
In 2019 Oyinkansola Sarah Aderibigbe was posting covers of Andra Day and 2Face Idibia. In December 2019 she uploaded an original song, “Damage”, to her Instagram page. Don Jazzy, the founder of Mavin Records, sent her a message asking to meet.
Her first sessions at Mavin Studios were her first time in a professional studio. By 2022 Ayra Starr had a global hit with “Rush”, and she has since become one of the most streamed women in African music.
3. Joeboy: an Ed Sheeran cover that caught Mr Eazi’s eye
Joseph Akinfenwa-Donus started out as a rapper. In 2017 a friend encouraged him to try singing, and he posted a cover of Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You”. It went viral, and Mr Eazi found him on Instagram and invited him into his emPawa Africa programme for new artists.
Joeboy used part of his emPawa grant to shoot the video for “Fààjí” in 2018, and “Baby” followed in 2019. In November 2026 he was back with “Pretty Girls” ahead of his Lavida Boy EP.
4. Tyla: covers on Instagram in her final year of school
While still in high school in Johannesburg, Tyla Seethal was sharing original songs and covers on Instagram and looking for any way into the industry. Those posts led her to her first manager, Garth von Glehn, who set up her first recording sessions.
Social media then finished the job. “Water” spawned a dance challenge on TikTok in 2023, reached the top ten in South Africa, the United States and the United Kingdom, and won Tyla the first ever Grammy for Best African Music Performance.
5. Uncle Waffles: a stand-in DJ set in Soweto
In October 2021 Lungelihle Zwane, a TV presenter from Eswatini, filled in for a DJ who had pulled out of a booking at the Zone 6 nightclub in Soweto. Someone filmed her dancing behind the decks to Young Stunna’s “Adiwele”. The clip went viral.
Billboard later called Uncle Waffles the “Princess of Amapiano”. Her debut single “Tanzania” went to number one in South Africa and was certified platinum seven times, and Beyoncé used it in a dance break on her Renaissance World Tour.
6. Kamo Mphela: dance videos that turned into a career
Kamogelo Matona grew up in Emdeni, Soweto, and once had a small part as an extra on the soap Isibaya. Acting was not for her. Dancing was. She posted videos of herself dancing on Instagram, they spread, and she became an internet celebrity before she had released a song.
Kamo Mphela turned that following into a music career as one of amapiano’s best-known performers, proof that on the internet a dancer can become a headliner.
7. Teni: freestyles and covers before the hits
Before “Case” and “Uyo Meyo”, Teniola Apata was best known for posting covers and freestyles on Instagram. Those clips built her an audience long before radio caught up. She is the younger sister of singer Niniola, and she has written for others too, including Davido’s “Like Dat”.
In February 2019 YouTube Music picked Teni as one of its Trending Artists on the Rise.
8. Victony: from SoundCloud freestyles to “Soweto”
Victor Ebuka Anthony began in 2016 as a rapper posting freestyles and mixes on SoundCloud. In 2022 he released “Soweto” with Tempoe on his Outlaw EP. The song took off on TikTok, and a remix with Rema and Don Toliver charted in the UK, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Canada.
9. CKay: a 2019 song that TikTok found in 2021
Not every story here is about discovering a person. Sometimes the internet discovers a song. CKay‘s “Love Nwantiti” came out on his 2019 EP through Chocolate City and did well in Nigeria. In 2021 it went viral on TikTok, two years after release, and became an international hit.
It reached number 23 in the UK, charted across Europe, Africa and Australia, and gave CKay his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100. A remix with Joeboy and Ghana’s Kuami Eugene had come out in February 2020.
10. Shallipopi: TikTok uploads to “Elon Musk”
Crown Uzama from Benin City started uploading his music to TikTok and other platforms in 2020. His breakthrough came in March 2023 with “Elon Musk”, which spread online and was remixed with Zlatan within two months.
His debut album, Presido La Pluto, went to number one on the TurnTable chart in 2023. Shallipopi built his fanbase online first and the industry followed.
What African stars discovered on social media have in common
Look at the list again and two names keep coming up: Don Jazzy and Mr Eazi, label owners who were scrolling and acted fast. The other lesson is that the post rarely had to be perfect. Joeboy’s cover was a first attempt at singing. Uncle Waffles was a last-minute replacement.
The flip side is that viral fame fades fast without the songs to back it up. Every artist here followed the clip with music people kept playing. If you have a phone and a voice, the door is open. Walking through it still takes work.
