Lekompo’s roots are gritty and grounded. The sound was born from the daily lives of Limpopo farmworkers living in cramped makompo compounds, places where music wasn’t entertainment; it was survival. However, 2025 saw Lekompo take on a whole new persona thanks to its young fans.
A new generation has rebuilt the sound with sharper drums, rawer vocals, auto-tune swagger, and dance-floor-ready beats that hit like a bootleg speaker in a taxi. It still smells like dust roads and payday energy but now it streams like a pop genre. It’s raw, but it’s intentional. It’s regional, but it’s running the national dashboard.
What Spotify Data Tells Us
According to Spotify data, Shandesh is the clearest signal. She’s sitting on over 80M+ Spotify streams, a big flex for a sound that was once dismissed as “rural noise.” Her hit Sdudla or Slender broke into the top 10 most-streamed songs in South Africa, while Di Choppa rounds out SA’s top-20 most-streamed songs of the year.
Kharishma, who also sits in the top 20 most-streamed artists in SA, is right behind her with over 76M streams, off the back of huge township traction and hyper-engaged listeners who treat Lekompo like a lifestyle. Khadeair’s Magumba is also in the top 20 most-streamed artists in SA, closing in with over 12M streams, while Chokeslm nears 7M streams. Even breakout names like Janesh are stacking numbers – Ngwanaka has hit over 8M streams since it dropped in April.
This is the part that should make anyone sit up: these numbers are coming from young, mobile-savvy fans who have turned Lekompo into a national cultural marker.
2025 has been a breakthrough year for the Limpopo genre. The surge in local genre consumption on Spotify has been driven by playlists like Lekompo Way, which aren’t just riding the wave but also steering it. “The energy around this playlist shows just how fast the culture is moving and how hungry listeners are for sounds that reflect their world in real time,” says Phiona Okumu, Head of Music at Spotify Sub-Saharan Africa.
Lekompo is the movement. Limpopo is the moment
The fans boosting these tracks aren’t passive; they’re sharing, stitching, remixing, and turning every drop into a micro-trend. This is why Lekompo has leapfrogged from “rural curiosity” to the most exciting youth-driven movement in SA right now, as seen with events such as the Lekompo Balcony Mix events that have sold out due to the genre’s high demand.
Townships are the engine. Digital platforms are the fuel. Limpopo is the driver. Townships are the engine. Digital platforms are the fuel. Limpopo is the driver. Townships are the engine. Digital platforms are the fuel. Limpopo is the driver.
Not a trend a cultural power shift
Lekompo is not just a “new genre.” It’s a cultural reroute. The numbers prove it. The youth confirm it. The streets echo it.
The post Spotify Wrapped 2025 – The local Lekompo wave: Why Shandesh, Kharishma and Khadeair put Limpopo on the map in 2025 appeared first on Entertainment SA.
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