DJ SUMBODY CHATS ABOUT ALL THINGS AMAPIANO

JAMAL GROOTBOOM

THE summer season in 2018 when Monate Mpolaye dropped was one many groovists won’t forget.

Gqom was still at its height and this mid-tempo song came as a breath of fresh air compared to the high octane nature of the music genre that originated in Durban.

In many ways, Monate Mpolaye was the precursor to the domination of amapiano which is the new dominating genre, with a plethora of new songs dropping every week at this stage.

DJ Sumbody has been one of the amapiano pioneers popularising the genre and we spoke to him about amapiano, the struggles entertainers are facing with Covid-19 and why amapiano is going global.

Shedding light on why the genre has become such a phenomenon in Mzansi, he says: “It’s simply because it’s our sound and it’s quite unique. It’s got dance moves, it’s quite catchy and the hooks speak to the community of South Africa.”

Monate Mpolaye was a true cultural reset at the time and, in talking about the impact of the song, he says: “Monate Mpolaye is one of the songs that opened the (ama)piano genre. Especially because it features legends like Thebe from a kwaito background. And also featuring a hip hop artist on a (ama)piano track, Cassper Nyovest. It really opened doors for that sound...”

Collaboration is a huge part of the genre with artists even outside of the genre jumping on songs in hopes of landing a hit track.

The entertainment industry has suffered a big knock due to the coronavirus pandemic. Talking about this, Sumobody mentions that the pandemic impacted artists a lot since they depend on the clubs, restaurants and nightlife to get income. And they had to change gears since during the early stages of lockdown people were relying on streaming to get their groove fix.

Due to the hardships of those times, artists needed to find other forms of income.

The rise of amapiano, has sparked an ongoing debate on which genre is better between it and gqom.

The 4 The Kulture hitmaker says, “It’s because of the kwaito elements and hooks. The other one (gqom) has a more upbeat tempo and this one is more relaxed. It’s the same language.”

He says amapiano is more soulful and allows people to sing along.

DJ Sumbody recently released Lerato featuring Rorisang and is currently working on his new album.

On what fans can expect, he says, “I’ve got songs on the album featuring good vocalists and if you listen to the album you can see I’m trying to reach out to other countries.”