In honor of International Women’s Day (IWD), music streaming platform, Audiomack, has spotlighted 10 phenomenal women in the African music industry, who are impacting the growth of the music ecosystem across the continent.

Tapping into this year’s global IWD theme – #ChooseToChallenge, Audiomack highlighted how these women are challenging inequality and fostering inclusion within the African music scene, through a video compilation amplifying their shared voices towards accelerating gender parity. This video serves as a call to action for other individuals in the African music industry to lend their support in creating a gender-balanced world.

The video features Yemi Alade, Nigerian Artiste; Kay Faith, South-African Audio Engineer and Record Producer; Nadia Mukami, Kenyan Artiste; MzVee, Ghanaian Artiste; Osagie O., Country Manager for ONErpm Nigeria; Zuchu, Tanzanian Artiste; Muthoni Drummer Queen, Kenyan Artiste; Ms Cosmo, South African Hip-Hop DJ; Aika Navy Kenzo, Tanzanian Artiste and Charlotte Bwana, Head of Business Development and Media Partnerships at Audiomack Africa.

Speaking about the initiative, David Ponte, CMO and Co-Founder of Audiomack expressed the company’s pledge to ensuring gender parity and amplifying female voices across the continent. He said, “We celebrate the progress that has been made in the music industry but recognize that there is still more to be accomplished. At Audiomack, we are committed to choosing to challenge by nurturing a diverse, inclusive environment in which all of our people are empowered to achieve their full potential.”

To support the campaign, Audiomack is further amplifying female voices that drive culture and change by creating a #FemaleForces playlist full of tracks by both emerging and established female artists across the continent, which can be found on the app.

Also commenting, Jason Johnson, Vice President of Marketing and Brand Strategy at Audiomack Africa said, “The #FemaleForces playlist is a testament to the amazing female talents across Africa who define the future of music. We will continue to champion the rights of women, and will do this while celebrating the phenomenal African female powerhouses who have left permanent footsteps on the local & global music scene.”
Profiles of Spotlighted Women

Aika
A vibrant singer, rapper and writer, Aika is one of the dynamic personalities of the Tanzanian based musical duo – Navy Kenzo. In February 2016, the duo had the first ever tour done by any artists in Tanzania, bringing her creativity and unique music rhythms to East Africa and beyond.

Charlotte Bwana
Char is the Head of Business Development & Media Partnerships for Audiomack in Africa, the African arm of the American youth-driven, artist first music streaming platform that allows creators to share unlimited music and podcast content for free, along with tools to help them expand their audiences.

Kay Faith
Kay Faith, is a South African born and Cape Town based audio engineer and producer. Kay strives to better the South African music scene and to ensure the world recognizes our unique talent and style. Starting as a prolific engineer in the Cape Town Hip Hop scene, Kay has since grown to being a full-time producer along with her audio engineering accolades.

Ms Cosmo
As one of the most recognized hip-hop DJs in South Africa, Ms Cosmo has quickly made her mark on the African Continent as a hip-hop Queen and gained widespread respect within the music and entertainment industry. expanded her love for music past the decks and established herself as a music producer.

Muthoni Drummer Queen
Muthoni Drummer Queen is a singer, rapper and drummer from Nairobi, Kenya. Since 2008, Muthoni has been juggling her creative hats between making music and running Blankets and Wine, a festival she founded to increase access for African artists to live audiences. In addition, she is involved in developing the skills within the Kenyan music industry through perform music incubator.

MzVee
MzVee is a Ghanaian singer, afropop, dancehall and R&B artiste. Her debut solo album features several hits including ‘Borkor Borkor’, ‘Natural Girl’ and ‘Dancehall Queen’. MzVee was named in MTV Bases’s list of the top African artistes to watch out for in 2016 and continues to receive both critical and commercial acclaim for her work.

Nadia Mukami
In just about three years since establishing her career in Kenya’s music industry, Nadia Mukami was already recognized as one of the new voices to look out for in the region. Nadia’s musical style is defined by smooth urban sounds fused with poetry and afro-pop. She has been a poet from high school and thus the rhyme influences in her music.

Osagie O
Osagie is the Country Manager for ONErpm Nigeria, one of today’s fastest-growing music companies in the global marketplace. Her work in breaking Wizkid, one of Nigeria’s most acclaimed musician solidified her presence in the African music industry.

Yemi Alade
Yemi Alade is a Nigerian afropop /R&B artiste, singer/songwriter, composer, actress and entertainer. She was the first female afropop artist to hit over 100million views on YouTube and VEVO with her smash hit single “Johnny” which is now the most views video from an African female artiste.

Zuchu
Zuchu is a Tanzanian singer, songwriter and recording artist. She was awarded the Silver Play Button by YouTube for becoming the first East African female artist to exceed more than 100 000 subscribers within a week.