The 2025 AAEA Music Awards (African Arts Entertainment Awards) took place in Nairobi, Kenya, and it was definitely a night to remember. Nigerian artists stole the show, taking home several major awards in recognition of their contributions to music and entertainment. Check out our list below to find out which of your favorite stars went home with a trophy.
Nigerian Artists Who Won at the 2025 AAEA Music Awards
Wizkid
Wizkid’s song Piece of My Heart, featuring Brent Faiyaz, won the award for Best Afro-R&B Song. This track is the lead single from Wizkid’s sixth album called Morayo, which was released in October 2024. The song reached the top position on the Official Afrobeats Chart and remained in the Top 10 for 13 weeks. It also achieved the number 7 spot on Billboard’s World Digital Song Sales chart.
Asake & Wizkid
Asake and Wizkid won the Best Afro-Native Song award for their popular track MMS. This song is featured on Asake’s third studio album, titled Lungu Boy. When it was released, MMS debuted at No. 1 on the Official Nigeria Top 100 chart and held that position for at least two weeks. Additionally, Lungu Boy set a record for having the largest number of streams on its first day on Spotify Nigeria and made history on the Apple Music charts as well.
Davido
Davido and Chris Brown’s song Hmmm won the Best Global Collaboration award. The track, featured on Chris Brown’s album 11:11, charted internationally and peaked at No. 60 on the Official Video Streaming Chart. Hmmm also received the Outstanding International Song award at the 2025 NAACP Image Awards.
Tems
Grammy-winning artist Tems has claimed the title for Best Global African Female Artist at the 2025 AAEA Music Awards. Earlier in February, she won her second Grammy for her hit song Love Me JeJe. She also contributed to the soundtrack for the movie Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and her performance of No Woman No Cry received a lot of praise.
Ayra Starr
Ayra Starr won the award for Best Female Artist in West Africa. This follows her historic win as the first woman in 16 years to win the Best African Music Act at the 2025 MOBO Awards. Additionally, she will be making her acting debut in a film based on Tomi Adeyemi’s popular book, Children of Blood and Bone. The adaptation features an all-Black cast made up of both Hollywood stars and African talent.
Other Nigerian artists who won big at the 2025 AAEA Music Awards include:
- Burna Boy: The songwriter/record producer received the coveted Best Overall Male Artist award.
- Darkoo: British-Nigerian artist Darkoo won the award for Best Diasporan Act for her hit song Favourite Girl.
- Seyi Vibez: Street-pop sensation Seyi Vibez took home the award for Best Male Artist in West Africa.
- Odumodublvck: The Nigerian rapper/songwriter secured the Best Rapper in West Africa award.
