HAVE YOU EVER HEARD ABOUT AMAPIANO?

The Emerging African Music Genre 

Amapiano is a Zulu word, that is, it comes from Zulu language which simply means, "the pianos" but it's a musical genre on its own which is much more complex on composition than the name implies. It was originated from South Africa and It's a collaboration between DJs, producers and vocalists with throbbing basslines, jazzyriffs and lively percussion and involves a lot of piano playing. It can be played in club nights, homes, in parties because it encompasses numerous types of songs. Amapiano is known to be built on the famous electropop conventions of Kwaito, a popular part of South African music that emerged in the 90s. Both Amapiano and Kwaito represent the long time desire of South African to ease the stresses of persistent inequality in the country, it's a reflection of day to day life of many South Africans especially their youths.

Despite the popularity of the song in its country of origin, Amapiano has also gained more passionate fans that listen to it outside South Africa i.e in some other countries especially in Nigeria. Sometimes back, rising star and Afrobeats producer, Juls dropped "Soweto Blue", it's a melodious song inspired by Amapiano, this particular track has had many YouTube views since its release. 

The more the numbers of listeners increase, the more Amapiano dance enthusiasts also increase all over the world with numerous social media dancers developing love for it in different trends which some of them are; Lauren and Lara (TikTok famous twins), Mathew Powe also on Tik Tok and also Sweet Lemonade; YouTube dance sensation. Among the famous Amapiano artists in the world are; 

(1) Santhing Soweto: He's a songwriter/singer, he was once a member of Acapella group, his popular Amapiano track is "Isphithiphithi".

(2) Kamo Mphela: She's both Amapiano singer and dancer from Durban, one of his popular album is "Nkulunkulu".

(3) Bandile and Banel Mbere are twin brothers, they were born in the US city of Boston and live in South Africa. They have been DJs since they left High school and their song "careless whisper" is one of their Amapiano tracks.

(4) Themba Sonnyboy Sokowe is a DJ, vocalist and producer, he has displayed his Amapiano talent on world stage through his collaborations with international icons such as major Lazer, Drake, Wizkid and so on. His debut solo EP, "Madumane", was released recently.

(5) Labeled Petrus Motha is an Amapiano pioneer, he has been referred to as "the king of Amapiano" and he collaborated with DJ Maphorisa to produce his album. "Scorpion kings" is one of the most streamed Amapiano albums of all time.

(6) Mandisa Redebe is one of the very few women among Amapiano producers, she has been performing wonders with her Amapiano talent. She released "Thokoza Café" with DJ Dinho in 2020, which happened to be the first Amapiano album to include a francophone track called "French kiss". Other Amapiano artists are Goya menor the artiste behind the popular song "Ameno" Amapiano remix, Toshi Tikolo, Samelsiwe Twisha, Sanele Sithole, Nkosinathi Nkosi and so on.

There are Amapiano artists in Nigeria also, among them and their albums are: 

(1) Zinoleesky........... Kilofeshe, November, 2020.

(2) DJ Maphorisa and Wizkid........ Soweto baby.

(3) Rema......... Woman, July, 2020.

(4) DJ Kaywise and Phyno........... Highway, December, 2020.

(5) Falz and Niniola........ Squander.

(6) Ke star remix ...... Focalistic and Davido ft Virgo, February, 2021.

(7) Monalisa........ Lojay and Sarz, April, 2021.

(8) Davido, Mayokun and Sho Madjozi....... Igota fried.

Consciously or unconsciously, some of us have been listening to Amapiano tracks and we can testify now that we have deep knowledge about it that, it's one of the best musical genres you can ever listen to.

Credit: Pan African Music

               Notjustokay.com

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Have you ever heard of AMAPIANO?  Do you know other Amapiano Artistes or songs?  Drop your comments below👇