New Spotify listening data from Nairobi reveals that listeners aged 18 to 24 accounted for 53.7% of all streams in the city in June 2026, giving Nairobi the highest share of Gen Z listening among the three African cities analysed. By comparison, listeners aged 18 to 24 accounted for 44.4% of streams in Lagos and 29.9% in Johannesburg.
Released ahead of Spotify’s Greasy Tunes programme in Nairobi, which runs from 15 to 26 July, the data paints a picture of a generation whose listening habits are expanding in multiple directions rather than converging around a single sound.
Key findings
Among Kenyan listeners aged 18 to 24, year-on-year genre growth figures show simultaneous expansion across genres that rarely feature in the same conversation:
- Dancehall grew by 95% year on year, making it the fastest-growing genre in the dataset.
- Bongo flava grew by 75%, reflecting accelerating cultural exchange between Kenya and Tanzania.
- Gengetone, the genre born in Nairobi, grew by 48%.
- Gospel grew by 37%, approximately six times the growth rate of drill, which increased by 6%.
- Amapiano grew by 34%, continuing its expansion from South Africa into East Africa.
- Afrobeats grew by 25%, R&B by 28% and afropop by 21%.
The data also reveals a clear generational divide in listening preferences. Among Kenyan listeners aged 18 to 24, deep house under-indexes at 0.50, meaning young listeners are half as likely to stream it as the broader population. Jazz under-indexes at 0.53, classic country at 0.55 and rumba congolaise at 0.61.
A generation that listens all day
Nairobi’s listeners aged 18 to 24 stream throughout the day, with listening activity strongest from midday into the early evening.
The peak listening hour for this age group is 12pm, while 6pm marks the peak across all age groups in the city.
The work and focus period, between 10am and 4pm, accounts for 39.7% of Gen Z’s daily listening, while the evening period, from 5pm to 10pm, contributes another 30.5%.
Even between 2am and 5am, listeners aged 18 to 24 account for 55% of all streams in the city.
Beyond music, Nairobi’s Gen Z podcast share is 2.5 times higher than that of Lagos and 1.7 times higher than Johannesburg. Arts, Society and Culture, Comedy, and Health and Fitness are among the leading podcast categories.
“Greasy Tunes Nairobi brings the data to life by showing how young Kenyans actually listen: across genres, across formats and across the social moments that shape the city. Over 12 days, we are creating space for artists, communities, food, conversation and sound to meet in one programme, reflecting Nairobi’s energy as a cultural hub where music is not just streamed, but experienced together,” said Agnes Opondo, Artist and Label Partnerships, East Africa, Spotify.
