Popular Kenyan musician and former Sauti Sol band member Bien Aime Baraza has won the Best Artist in Eastern Africa category at the Trace Awards 2025.

Bien was among the continent’s artists present during the awards ceremony hosted in Zanzibar on Tuesday. He was nominated in the Best Artist Eastern African Category as the only Kenyan artist.

Bien Aine among Winners 

The former Sauti Sol vocalist was nominated alongside big names in the music industry including Tanzania’s Diamond Platinumz, Harmonize, Marioo, Zuchu, and Nandy, Uganda’s Joshua Baraka and Ethiopia’s Rophnan.

In other categories, Makhadzi from South Africa was crowned as the best dancer.

Read Also: Harmonize Shows Love to Bien Baraza, Gifts Him His Ksh 64 Million Chain: "Nataka Kukuvalisha"

Additionally, P.Prime ‘MMS’ from Nigeria clinched the best producer award of the year while Josey from Ivory Coast was named the Best Francophone artist.

Chelsea Dinorath from Angola came first in the Best Artist (Lusophone Africa) category while Duquesa from Brazil triumphed as the Best Artist in Brazil.

Categories of the Trace Awards included Song of the Year, Best Album of the Year, Best DJ, Best Male and Female Artist, and the Eastern Africa Award category, among others.

Also Read: Bien on Why Govt Denied Sauti Sol Access to Nyayo Stadium

Trace Awards 2025

The awards are organized by Trace, a leading Afro-Urban music and culture platform.

The Trace Summit is an event that seeks to celebrate Africa’s Top artists to encourage artistry.

It recognized different genres in the music industry like dancehall, Kizomba, Bongo Flava, hip hop, R ‘N’ B, Rhumba, gospel, and Amapiano category.

During the Awards, artists from over 30 African countries, South America, the Caribbean, and Europe were among the competitors in the 24 categories.

The event featured a lineup of the best music performers across the continent including Yemi alade, Rema, Fally Ipupa, Innoss’B, Zuchu, Diamond Platinumz, Bien, and Wally Seck.

Read Also: Trace Awards 2025: See All the nominees. Including Diamond, Zuchu and Bien

Event Sponsors

Trace Summit had sponsors across main categories, with Johnnie Walker sponsoring Song of the Year and Best Newcomer while Hot 97 took center stage in sponsoring the Best Hip-Hop Artist in the event.

The Summit featured a two-day summit bringing together creativity and discussions revolving around Africa’s creative industries, technology, managers, DJs, producers, and stakeholders across Africa and the Diaspora.