Sauti Sol’s Fifth Album Midnight Train’s Anniversary Announcement

The fifth anniversary of Sauti Sol’s fifth studio album, Midnight Train, is being celebrated by the Kenyan Afro-pop supergroup. In addition to becoming the best Kenyan export, the record, which was released on June 5, 2020 under the Universal Music Group Africa label, has established Sauti Sol as a major force in African music. The album features 13 tracks with music in English, Swahili, and Luhya, and was produced by Grammy-winning music producer Andre Harris, Polycarp Otieno, and Delvin Mudigi, among others.

With well over 407 million plays across Digital Streaming Platforms (DSPs), 549 million streams including User Generated Content (UGC), and 341 million YouTube views, the album has made history in Africa’s digital music industry and continues to have the highest cultural resonance to this day. With nearly one million monthly listeners, Sauti Sol continues to be the most popular artist in Kenya on Spotify, regularly placing among the country’s top five most streamed artists.

With over 34 million YouTube views and 10.5 million Spotify plays, the album’s breakthrough single “Suzanna” is the most streamed tune on the album and their second most streamed song overall, behind the fan favorite “Melanin,” which has over 13 million streams.

The album is a fascinating journey through vulnerability, hope, and reinvention, from the self-reflective song “Insecure” to the gospel-themed song “Brighter Days,” which features the Soweto Gospel Choir. Additionally, Midnight Train features high-profile performances by South African rapper and singer Sho Madjozi, American singer and songwriter India Arie in “My Everything,” and Black Motion in “Disco Matanga” (Yambakhana), which also served as the main soundtrack for Netflix’s first African original series, “Queen Sono.” The variety of musical influences, languages, and cultures demonstrates Sauti Sol’s dedication to making music for all ages.

Sauti Sol has developed into one of Africa’s most renowned music collectives, starting with their 2008 first song, “Mwanzo,” and continuing with “Sol Filosofia” (2011), “Live and Die in Afrika” (2015), and “Afrikan Sauce” (2019). They are leaders in Kenyan music as well as music around the continent because of their diverse library, which covers several eras and emotions.

With more than half a billion streams, “Midnight Train” is currently the most streamed Kenyan album to date.