Nnegest Likk\u00e9, a filmmaker of Ethiopian, Nigerian and African American descent, said in a Premium Times interview<\/a> earlier this year that \u201cAfrican Queen,\u201d the heartwarming ballad by Nigerian hitmaker 2baba, \u201cstruck a universal chord with the world\u201d 20 years ago \u2014 especially after Likk\u00e9 included it in her 2006 comedy Phat Girlz.<\/p>\n More from Billboard<\/strong><\/p>\n Named the No. 1 song on Billboard\u2018s 50 best Afrobeats songs of all time list<\/a> last month, \u201cAfrican Queen\u201d is also one of the first Afrobeats songs to be incorporated in a Hollywood production, a phenomenon that has grown significantly over the last five years with the genre\u2019s rising popularity across the globe. Now, Billboard is rounding up more Afropop music moments in TV and film: \u201cAfrican Queen\u201d is not the only song from Billboard\u2018s best Afrobeats songs list that makes this one, as Wizkid<\/a> and Tems<\/a>\u2018 \u201cEssence,\u201d Skales\u2019 \u201cShake Body\u201d and Yemi Alade<\/a>\u2018s \u201cJohnny\u201d have also been featured on the small and silver screens.<\/p>\n Outside of appearing during the third and final season of the Sex and the City spinoff series And Just Like That, \u201cEssence\u201d has also been featured on the CW sports drama series All American and the AppleTV+ sports comedy drama series Ted Lasso. Another Tems track, her 2020 For Broken Ears sleeper hit \u201cHigher,\u201d appeared on All American, while Ted Lasso spotlighted 1da Banton\u2019s 2021 hit \u201cNo Wahala\u201d and Tekno\u2019s 2020 single \u201cEnjoy\u201d during its third and final season. And alt\u00e9 trailblazer Odunsi (The Engine) and Runtown\u2019s \u201cStar Signs\u201d appeared in both Netflix\u2019s British teen sex comedy drama series Sex Education and HBO\u2019s sports comedy drama series Ballers.<\/p>\n Below, Billboard\u00a0rounds up 15 moments where Afropop songs have soundtracked weddings, strip clubs and more on-screen moments, in order from newest to oldest. This list excludes songs that African artists intentionally recorded for TV show and movie soundtracks (although said list could be coming soon).<\/p>\n While Sarah Jessica Parker\u2019s iconic protagonist Carrie Bradshaw attends a publishing soir\u00e9e with her neighbor and fellow author Duncan Reeves \u2014 and Bradshaw meets Reeves\u2019 editor and ex-wife Imogen \u2014 Wizkid and Tems\u2019 smash \u201cEssence\u201d faintly plays in the background.<\/p>\n Dr. Ivo Robotnik, played by Jim Carrey, emerges from underneath the cobblestone streets of London as the Giggs<\/a>-assisted \u201cLondon Town\u201d from Mr. Eazi<\/a>\u2018s 2018 album Life is Eazi, Vol. 2 \u2013 Lagos to London plays.<\/p>\n https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js<\/a><\/p>\n https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js<\/a><\/p>\n Flavour<\/a>\u2018s 2023 African Royalty cut \u201cGame Changer\u201d plays right after the traditional \u201cIgbo Kwenu\u201d greeting during the wedding celebration of Cane Tejada and Noma Asaju, who is played by British Nigerian actress Caroline Chikezie.<\/p>\n Blaqbonez\u2019s Sex Over Love cut \u201cHeartbreaker,\u201d featuring Nasty C<\/a>, gets Marilyn \u201cMadam\u201d DeVille\u2019s strip club Club Eden turnt up. \u201cTough month for my haters man,\u201d he joked on X.<\/p>\n https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js<\/a><\/p>\n After Mia gets discharged from a months-long impatient treatment program for anorexia, Omah Lay<\/a>\u2018s 2022 Boy Alone single \u201cI\u2019m a Mess\u201d soundtracks part of her and her father\u2019s car ride home.<\/p>\n Following AFC Richmond\u2019s victorious match against Brentford, marking the English football club\u2019s sixth consecutive win, the players rejoice in the locker room. Afterwards, British Nigerian actor Toheeb Gbolabo O. Jimoh\u2019s character Sam Obisanya tells them to continue the celebration at his Nigerian restaurant Ola\u2019s, shortly before its official opening \u2014 and the invitation is soundtracked by 1da Banton\u2019s \u201cNo Wahala.\u201d \u201cEssence\u201d faintly plays later on while everyone\u2019s still at the restaurant, further underscoring Obisanya\u2019s strong ties to his Nigerian heritage.<\/p>\n On-and-off lovers Spencer James and Olivia Baker perform a sultry dance routine to the tune of Tems\u2019 \u201cHigher\u201d during Golden Angeles University\u2019s BSU West African Students Association Fashion Show.<\/p>\n Burna Boy<\/a>\u2018s 2019 African Giant cut \u201cGbona\u201d plays while Jamie relishes in his newfound freedom from prison while sticking his hand out the car window and reunites with his fellow ZT (Zero Tolerance)\/London Fields gang members. Netflix shared the scene on its Facebook account<\/a> and cleverly captioned the clip \u201cTop Burna Boy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShake Body\u201d by Skales in Sex Education (2021)<\/p>\n Scottish Rwandan actor Ncuti Gatwa\u2019s character Eric Effiong dancing in the mirror to Skales\u2019 2014 hit \u201cShake Body\u201d while packing for his trip back home to Nigeria for a family wedding was one of season three\u2019s prime scenes, and just one of many moments during episode six that spotlights music from the country. Odunsi (The Engine) and Runtown\u2019s \u201cStar Signs\u201d and Wizkid\u2019s \u201cJoro\u201d soundtrack Effiong and photographer Oba\u2019s night out at a gay club,\u00a0where they share a kiss in the middle of the dance floor.<\/p>\n Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti <\/a>and His Koola Lobitos\u2019 \u201cOyejo\u201d plays as Effiong spends quality family time at his grandmother\u2019s home, while Tiwa Savage<\/a>\u2018s \u201cKoroba\u201d plays when Effiong says goodbye to his grandmother and the end credits roll. Highlife musicians Prince Nico Mbarga and Idowu Odeyemi\u2019s \u201cSweet Mother\u201d and \u201cOni Suru,\u201d respectively, and live instrumental versions of Burna Boy\u2019s \u201cAnybody\u201d and Davido\u2019s \u201cFall\u201d are also featured in the episode.<\/p>\n Davido<\/a> performed his 2018 A Good Time single \u201cAssurance\u201d during the royal wedding celebration of the Prince of Zamunda Lavelle Junson-Joffer and Princess Mirembe. During an interview with Ionwannatalk Podcast<\/a>, Davido revealed that he got paid $15,000 per day on set. \u201cAssurance\u201d was also included in the Amazon original motion picture soundtrack, as well as \u201cKoroba\u201d by Tiwa Savage, \u201cWaka Waka\u201d by Tekno and \u201cThese Streets\u201d by South African house trio Mi Casa.<\/p>\n John Boyega\u2019s character Jake Pentecost reflects on the Jaegers, giant humanoid mechas, defeating the Kaiju, villainous amphibious creatures, during the war a decade ago while Wizkid\u2019s 2017 Sounds From The Other Side cut \u201cDaddy Yo\u201d soundtracks a boozy pool party. The British Nigerian actor, who stars in and co-produces the second installment of the Pacific Rim franchise, explained why he put the song in the film. \u201cOne of the most exciting things about producing Pacific Rim Uprising was the opportunity to influence the creative choices. So I put\u00a0@wizkidayo\u00a0song \u2018Daddy yo\u2019 in the movie. Jaegers need afrobeats too!\u201d he wrote on Instagram, while sharing \u201ca video of me listening to this very song. Cool, calm and collected\u2026. I think.\u201d<\/p>\n After British Ghanian actress Michaela Coel\u2019s hilarious character Tracey Gordon gets caught satisfying the Black girl fetish of her brief love interest Ash by his secret wife and kids, Yemi Alade\u2019s 2014 smash \u201cJohnny\u201d \u2014 a song about her cheating ex-boyfriend \u2014 plays while Gordon is packing up her things.<\/p>\n While British Nigerian actor David Oyelowo\u2019s character Robert Katende introduces a couple of kids to the game of chess, Davido\u2019s 2013 hit \u201cSkelewu\u201d plays during a flashback scene of a younger Katende beating a city boy in a match and winning tuition money as a result. \u201cNever thought I\u2019d hear \u2018Skelewu\u2019 in a Disney movie. Amazing. #QueenofKatwe @iamshizzi !! CRAZY SHIT!!! @Lupita_Nyongo God bless you!!\u201d he wrote on X.<\/p>\n https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cRapid Fire\u201d by Cruel Santino<\/a>, Shane Eagle, Tomi Agape and Amaarae<\/a> faintly tees up Dwayne \u201cThe Rock\u201d Johnson<\/a>\u2018s character and Kansas City Chiefs owner Spencer Strasmore\u2019s press conference, where he drops bombshell news about signing Patrick Mahomes \u201cto the largest, fully guaranteed deal in NFL history.\u201d And it\u2019s just one instance during season five episode seven that gives African artists the mic. Teni<\/a>\u2018s \u201cAskayama\u201d plays earlier on when former Miami Dolphins offensive lineman\u00a0Charles Greane\u2019s wife Dr. Julie hangs up on him upon discovering he had two mild heart attacks, Odunsi (The Engine) and Runtown\u2019s \u201cStar Signs\u201d plays when NFL player Ricky Jerret\u2019s girlfriend Amber comes home and asks how his meeting with Hollywood executive Derek McLay was about becoming the next Michael Strahan, and Afrobeats superproducer Juls<\/a>, Tiggs Da Author<\/a> and Santino\u2019s \u201cMaaya\u201d plays during Strasmore\u2019s voiceover recap of the press conference and rolls into the end credits.<\/p>\n 2baba\u2019s 2004 hit \u201cAfrican Queen\u201d plays while Mo\u2019Nique\u2019s character Jazmin Biltmore walks around Palm Springs with her love interest Dr. Tunde Jonathan and questions their connection, but he assures her with a long kiss in the middle of a busy sidewalk. And at the end of the movie, Biltmore flies to Nigeria to reunite with Dr. Jonathan and have their happily ever after, cuing the reprise of \u201cAfrican Queen\u201d (which plays again during the end credits).<\/p>\n \u201cI feel so blessed and honored to have played a role in introducing Afrobeats to international audiences through \u2018African Queen,\u2019\u201d Likk\u00e9 said in her recent Premium Times interview. \u201c\u2018African Queen\u2019 is an iconic song because, as simple as it was, it struck a universal chord with the world. Everyone loved that song. There are a lot of hits in the Afrobeats genre, but will those songs stand the test of time and still be banging 20 years like \u2018African Queen\u2019 is?\u201d<\/p>\n Best of Billboard<\/strong><\/p>\n Sign up for Billboard’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Nnegest Likk\u00e9, a filmmaker of Ethiopian, Nigerian and African American descent, said in a Premium Times interview earlier this year that \u201cAfrican Queen,\u201d the heartwarming ballad by Nigerian hitmaker 2baba, \u201cstruck a universal chord with the world\u201d 20 years ago \u2014 especially after Likk\u00e9 included it in her 2006 comedy Phat Girlz. More from Billboard […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2024728,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25173],"tags":[372642,372643,372648,29110,315568,372645,21851,358107,372644,21852,372646,372647,305937,357892,372649],"class_list":["post-2024727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artists","tag-african-american-descent","tag-african-queen","tag-african-royalty","tag-billboard","tag-carrie-bradshaw","tag-eric-effiong","tag-kansas-city-chiefs","tag-miami-dolphins","tag-nnegest-likke","tag-patrick-mahomes","tag-phat-girlz","tag-spencer-james","tag-ted-lasso","tag-tiwa-savage","tag-yemi-alade"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/15-Afropop-Needle-Drops.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2024727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2024727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2024727\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2024728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2024727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2024727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2024727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\u201cEssence\u201d by Wizkid feat. Tems in And Just Like That\u2026 (2025)<\/h2>\n
\u201cLondon Town\u201d by Mr. Eazi in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024)<\/h2>\n
\u201cGame Changer\u201d by Flavour in Power Book II: Ghost (2024)<\/h2>\n
\u201cHeartbreaker\u201d by Blaqbonez in All the Queen\u2019s Men (2023)<\/h2>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a Mess\u201d by Omah Lay in Everything Now (2023)<\/h2>\n
\u201cNo Wahala\u201d by 1da Banton in Ted Lasso (2023)<\/h2>\n
\u201cHigher\u201d by Tems in All American (2023)<\/h2>\n
\u201cGbona\u201d by Burna Boy in Top Boy (2022)<\/h2>\n
\u201cShake Body\u201d by Skales in Sex Education (2021)<\/h2>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cAssurance\u201d by Davido in Coming 2 America (2021)<\/h2>\n
\u201cDaddy Yo\u201d by Wizkid in Pacific Rim Uprising (2018)<\/h2>\n
\u201cJohnny\u201d by Yemi Alade in Chewing Gum (2017)<\/h2>\n
\u201cSkelewu\u201d by Davido in Queen of Katwe (2016)<\/h2>\n
\u201cRapid Fire\u201d by Cruel Santino, Shane Eagle, Tomi Agape & Amaarae in Ballers (2015)<\/h2>\n
\u201cAfrican Queen\u201d by 2baba in Phat Girlz (2006)<\/h2>\n