Meet the pioneers of amapiano

Amapiano has become the youth’s lifeblood, not only in South Africa but across the continent and beyond too. The genre’s rise may appear to have happened overnight, but on closer observation it’s been years in the making. Here we look at some of the major players who have contributed to making it one of the fastest growing genres in the world, writes Shingai Darangwa

“IT’S almost like it’s the heartbeat of the youth at the moment,” said Busiswa about amapiano during an interview with Rolling Stone last year. The SA house star hit the nail on the head.

Here we look at some of the major players who have contributed to making it one of the fastest-growing genres in the world:

Mr JazziQ

Mr JazziQ and Josiah De Disciple (formerly collectively known as JazziDisciples) were among the first DJs to popularise amapiano back in 2018 with their hit single, “Long Lasting”.

Over the next year, the pair became the genre’s go-to guys for their uniquely soulful and hard-hitting brand of amapiano. While they, unfortunately, went their separate ways shortly after, Mr JazziQ has continued to be on the up and up by forging a successful solo career of his own and building one of the most outstanding amapiano labels around, Black is Brown Entertainment. His latest smash hit single, “Halala” was recently certified platinum and, if his track record is anything to go by, there’s more where that came from.

Mr JazziQ.

Scorpion Kings (DJ Maphorisa & Kabza De Small)

Nowadays, you can’t mention Kabza De Small without mentioning DJ Maphorisa and you can’t mention DJ Maphorisa without mentioning Kabza De Small.

While the two artists are undeniably supremely talented in their own right, their work together as Scorpion Kings, dating back to a period in 2019 and 2020when they collectively released an astonishing eight projects over a scorching 12 month run, is the stuff of legends.

And to be clear, they aren’t just churning out throwaways. When it comes to quality musical output Scorpion Kings are the standard. Their respective record labels, Piano Hub and New Money Gang, are simultaneously grooming and unleashing the genre's next crop of stars, including the likes of Daliwonga, Young Stunna and Felo Le Tee.

DJ Maphorisa and Kabza De Small.

Major League DJz

Major League DJz certainly weren’t the first amapiano DJs on the scene. In fact, if we’re being honest, they did as they usually do: they saw an opportunity to switch sound, which they’ve done severally, and capitalised on a new and exciting movement.

But what they’ve also impressively done is commercialise amapiano in a way that their predecessors and those who’ve come after them have not been able to do.

They’ve travelled the world more, and they’ve come up with an amapiano NFT (non-fungible tokens), they’ve broken the world record for the longest DJ set by a DJ duo, and pretty much led the way in showcasing the endless possibilities of the genre. If you want to see how far amapiano is really headed, just watch these guys. They’re the benchmark.

Major League DJz.

DBN Gogo

There was a period last year when DBN Gogo was inescapable. Her music was on every other DJ’s set, her “Dakiwe” dance challenge was the most ubiquitous challenge on TikTok and she was performing at virtually every big show in SA.

That momentum has continued into 2022 and she continues to be at the forefront of the genre through her entertaining DJ sets, her unique on-stage presence and her unique sense of style.

Earlier in the year, DBN Gogo spoke on the importance of dance challenges in a new BBC1 Xtra documentary showcasing the global emergence of Amapiano.

“Dance challenges are like a different life form to amapiano,” she said. "They’re the thing that actually helps songs move before they’ve even dropped.”

DBN Gogo. Pictures: Instagram

Focalistic

“Heh bari Foca we wanna party,” has become a rallying cry for pandemonium at the country’s biggest and most hyped up parties.

It’s what the 26-year-old amapiano star yells at the crowd at the start of his sets these days before they yell it right back at him, demanding that he set the party on fire. And boy does he oblige.

Focalistic’s ascension to the biggest and most sought-after vocalist/rapper in amapiano has been swift and unrivalled.

Since emerging as the third wheel to the Major League DJz wrecking ball back in 2018, Focalistic has followed in the pair’s globetrotting footsteps and also carved his own lane.

He's brought a hip hop swagger to the forefront of the genre and shown through his success that amapiano is not all about the DJs.

MFR Souls

When amapiano was still bubbling under in 2018, it was Tumelo “Force” Mabe and Tumelo “Maero” Nedondwe, known as MFR Souls, who were the first to really strike gold.

Their hit single “Love You Tonight” featuring DJ Maphorisa, Sha Sha and Kabza De Small took the country by storm and became the genre’s biggest hit around the same time JazziDisciples were making a name for themselves.

They quickly followed that up with the hit single “Amanikiniki” featuring Kamo Mphela, Major League DJz and Bontle Smith, which is the most viewed amapiano music video ever with 29.5 million views on YouTube.

While they haven’t been able to reach similar heights since their early exploits are the stuff of legends and there’s little doubt they’ll be back, firing on all cylinders soon.

Focalistic.