In January 2026, MIDiA Research and Splice named Afro house their sound of the year. The headline figure was striking: Afro house downloads on Splice grew from about 760,000 in 2024 to roughly 6.7 million in 2025, a 778% jump. The genre climbed from fifth to second place among the most-downloaded genres on the platform.
What the number measures
The figure counts sample downloads by Splice users. That makes it a strong signal of what producers are making, not necessarily what listeners are streaming. Producers tend to move ahead of the charts, so creator data like this is often an early indicator. But it is one platform's data, and Splice's user base leans toward electronic and hip hop producers.
The wider house picture
Afro house was not the only house style moving. The same report noted searches on Splice for French house up 102% and Latin house up 87% year over year, while tropical house downloads fell 14%. One pack, "Vocal Afro House", was the fourth most-downloaded pack of the year with more than 1.4 million downloads.
The report also flagged hip hop branching out beyond trap, a speed garage revival and bedroom pop as sounds to watch.
Why producers are drawn to it
- Groove first. The style is built on layered percussion and rolling grooves, which rewards careful programming more than expensive gear.
- Room for melody and voice. Chants, vocal chops and warm chords sit on top of the rhythm, so it suits producers who also write.
- Dancefloor and streaming both work. Long DJ-friendly versions and shorter edits are both common.
Where to start
If you want to try it, start with our step-by-step guide to making an Afro house beat, and read what defines the Afro house sound first if the style is new to you. Free tools are enough to get going; see our list of free production tools.
