Audio streaming service Spotify announced 2021 Wrapped a couple of days ago, and with it came the opportunity to compare the different music tastes across generations, in this case Gen Z and Millennials.

Which artistes do these two groups listen to, and are there any that they have in common? We break down each generation’s tastes, highlighting their top 10 most streamed artistes.

The Gen Z vs Millennial debate is a never-ending one, even if the age difference between the oldest Gen Z and youngest Millennial is only a year.

Gen Zers prefer mom jeans, while Millennials are diehard skinny jeans lovers. Gen Zs declared that side-parts are very Millennial-esque, and middle-parts are the in thing.

Millennials on the other hand, believe Gen Zs are obsessed with TikTok challenges.

But when it comes to music, are the listening tastes between Millennials and Gen Z really that different? Or are there similarities showing that, in the end, people are not all that different and that music is the one factor that unites us all?

Spotify Wrapped – the annual round-up of the most streamed artistes, songs, albums and playlists – gave us a chance to look at both generations’ listening habits, and there were some unexpected crossovers.

Crossover artistes
Drake
The Canadian rapper is the most streamed artiste for both Gen Z and Millennials, showing his cross-generational appeal.

His most recent album, Certified Lover Boy, broke Spotify records on the day it was released for the highest opening day streams. There’s no doubt that this contributed to his Most Streamed status.

Justin Bieber
The other artiste who seems to be loved by both Gen Z and Millennials is also a Canadian; Justin Bieber.

He is the second most streamed artiste by Gen Zers, and comes in third in the Millennials’ streaming charts.

It might seem surprising that he’d be so high up in the list for Millennials, but he himself is a Millennial, albeit from the section of the younger ones. It, therefore, makes sense that they would be drawn to his music.

Sauti Sol
Kenya’s biggest band, Sauti Sol, is the third and final crossover artiste. They are quite popular among Millennials, coming in at number two.

This is unsurprising, as this was the audience they started with when they first came into the music scene. For Gen Z, they were the sixth most streamed artiste.

While most of their music is well received by fans, their latest album, Midnight Train, had something for all generations, adding to their popularity.

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Gen Z most streamed artistes
A look at the most streamed artistes by Gen Z reveals that they are partial to rap music.

Eight out of the 10 most streamed artistes by this group are all rappers. After Drake, the second most popular rapper, and only female artiste in the list, is Doja Cat.

Juice WRLD is also a fan favourite, being the third most streamed rapper. Pop Smoke is still topping charts posthumously, as the fourth most popular rapper among Kenyan Gen Zers.

The full list of the most streamed artistes by Kenyan Gen Z is:

1. Drake
2. Justin Bieber
3. Doja Cat
4. Juice WRLD
5. Pop Smoke
6. Sauti Sol
7. Young Thug
8. Travis Scott
9. Lil Baby
10. Gunna

Millennials most streamed artistes
Kenyan Millennials have varied tastes when it comes to what music they listen to, with artistes across different genres making an appearance in their top 10.

Unlike Gen Z, where rappers dominate their list, the only rappers who are most streamed among Millennials – apart from Drake – are Kanye West and J Cole.

Instead, they show a preference for Kenyan and Nigerian artistes, with both Nviiri the Storyteller and Otile Brown joining Sauti Sol in the most streamed list. Wizkid and Burna Boy are the two Nigerian stars whose music is most streamed among this group.

The full list of the most streamed artistes by Kenyan Millennials is:

1. Drake
2. Sauti Sol
3. Justin Bieber
4. Kanye West
5. Nviiri the Storyteller
6. Burna Boy
7. Otile Brown
8. Wizkid
9. Chris Brown
10. J. Cole

Even though most of the artistes these two generations listen to are worlds apart, it is still interesting to see that there are certain performers that people enjoy, regardless of their age.