Building Play Afro - A Music Rating Platform
Bertrand Atemkeng
Afrobeats is more than a genre; it’s a cultural movement, pulsating with rhythm, energy, and stories that resonate globally. Yet, despite its stark rise, there hasn’t been a platform dedicated to objectively rating and promoting Afrobeats music while connecting its creators to DJs and audiences worldwide. This realization led us—a group of DJs and artists—to build Play Afro.
The idea behind Play Afro was born from necessity. As DJs and artists ourselves, we saw a gap in how Afrobeats music is promoted and consumed. Platforms often rely on subjective opinions or algorithms disconnected from the actual performance of songs. This doesn’t do justice to the artists or their craft.
We envisioned a high-quality platform where artists can showcase their work to new audiences. DJs serve as gatekeepers, rating and ranking songs based on how they perform at real-world events like clubs, weddings, and festivals. Audiences can discover top-rated Afrobeats tracks, curated by professionals. The core value of the platform lies in fact-based ratings provided by DJs. These ratings are not just opinions but reflections of how songs resonate with diverse crowds. Each week, we publish charts of top-performing songs, creating a credible benchmark for excellence in the Afrobeats space.
Bringing this vision to life was no small feat. As the Technical Lead, my role was to lead the design and development of a robust platform that meets the needs of artists, DJs, and audiences. Here’s a closer look at how we built Play Afro.
Building a platform as dynamic as Play Afro required careful consideration of tools and technologies. Our stack reflects the need for scalability, performance, and seamless user experiences. The frontend is built with Next.js, leveraging its server-side rendering (SSR) for fast page loads and search engine optimization (SEO). The backend is powered by Node.js with a RESTful API design to ensure scalability and maintainability. For the database, we use a combination of PostgreSQL for structured data and Redis for caching and real-time interactions. Authentication is integrated with Auth0 for secure and seamless user authentication. Given the global popularity of Afrobeats music, our audience spans continents—from Asia and South America to Europe and Africa. It was essential to prioritize a geo-redundant deployment from the start, ensuring minimal latency for users worldwide. A cloud platform was the ideal choice, and we selected AWS as it met our geo-redundancy requirements while reducing technical debt and accelerating deployment. This approach allowed us to quickly launch and begin gathering user feedback.
Given the global and mobile-first nature of our target audience, we opted to start with a Progressive Web App (PWA). PWAs offer a native-like experience while being accessible across devices and platforms without the need for app downloads and installation. This approach allowed us to validate our concept quickly, reach a broader audience with minimal friction, and lay a foundation for future native mobile apps once demand grows. While the desktop version is already fully featured, we’re committed to expanding into native mobile apps to cater to an ever-growing user base.
Building Play Afro came with its fair share of challenges. Ensuring the ratings provided by DJs are credible and representative of real-world performance was a top priority. We developed mechanisms to prevent duplicate ratings and verify DJ participation. With the potential for high traffic during chart releases and voting periods, our backend had to handle sudden spikes without compromising performance. DJs and artists needed real-time feedback on song performance. Implementing WebSockets for live updates was critical but technically complex. Coordinating a remote development team across different time zones added another layer of complexity. Clear communication, structured sprints, and robust tools like Jira and Slack were essential for ensuring smooth collaboration. Launching a platform with such ambitious goals required balancing speed with quality. It was a constant push to meet deadlines while maintaining the integrity of the product.
While I drive the technical aspects of Play Afro, this platform represents a collaborative vision. My co-founders, DJ Bizi Brown and Prince Amaho, are not only established figures in the music world but also embody entrepreneurial and product management expertise. DJ Bizi Brown, an international DJ with a strong background in product management, and Prince Amaho, a seasoned entrepreneur and music manager, applied their strategic insights to shape the platform. Their roles extended far beyond artistry; they actively contributed to conceptualization, rigorous testing, and effective promotion, ensuring Play Afro serves its community with both innovation and authenticity.
Play Afro is just the beginning. As we move forward, we’ll continue to refine the platform, build native mobile apps, and explore new features to amplify the reach of Afrobeats music. Our mission remains steadfast: to create a credible, vibrant space where artists, DJs, and audiences connect and thrive. Building this platform wasn’t easy. But with a shared vision and relentless determination, we’ve laid the groundwork for something truly transformative. I look forward to what’s next and invite you to join us on this journey.
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