Burna Boy Makes History, Ranked Africa’s Best-Selling Artiste with 14.46 Million Album Units

Nigerian music news platform, The Debut Hub, announced the development in a post on its official X handle, @thedebuthub, citing data from Chartmasters.

The post reads:“JUST IN! Burna Boy returns as the #1 best-selling African artist of all time with 14.46 MILLION Equivalent Album Sales globally!

“It covers studio albums, other LPs (incl. compilations), physical singles, digital singles & streaming (album track equivalents).”

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that EAS is a standardised music industry metric used to equate singles, streams, and physical or digital purchases into one “album sale”.

It levels the playing field so traditional album purchases (1 unit) can be compared fairly to digital downloads and streaming activity across streaming platforms like Spotify or Apple Music.

According to Chartmasters, Burna Boy’s 14.46 million equivalent album units are derived from a combination of album sales, physical and digital single sales, and streaming equivalents, rather than pure album purchases alone.

NAN reports that the ranking marks another milestone for the Port Harcourt-born singer, who has become one of Africa’s most commercially successful music exports since gaining global mainstream recognition with his 2018 hit single, “Ye.”

Burna Boy has released several commercially successful projects, including African Giant (2019) and Love Damini (2022), which ranked among the most-streamed African albums on Spotify.

Beyond recorded music, Burna Boy has earned global recognition for his touring success, staging sold-out concerts at major international venues and further expanding the global reach of African music.

The latest Chartmasters ranking adds to the singer’s growing list of international achievements and underscores his commercial impact on the global music industry.