South Africa’s amapiano is coming to a club near you

Four years ago, two legendary figures in the South African music industry led a boycott of the country’s premiere awards event, the South African Music Awards (Samas). Arthur Mafokate and Mkhonzeni Langa, stage name Professor, called on other artists to drop out of their nominations until Samas showed kwaito – a genre of homegrown electronic dance music cemented in the township culture of post-aparthaid South Africa – the respect it deserved. 

Mafokate, age 59, is no stranger to fighting a system with the odds stacked against him. His breakout kwaito hit ‘Ka**ir’, released the year following Nelson Mandela’s ascendancy from prison to presidency, was an overt rebuke and reclaiming of the racial slur. The song landed in an era of a promising new democracy where the country’s township people had been liberated from the brutal aparthaid regime. Many aspects of life, including pathways into the music industry, were now unlocked.   

At the 2018 Samas, of the 778 competition entries, only eight were from kwaito artists. The so-called king of kwaito, Mafokate, shot down claims that the small number of entries proved his genre was dead. Instead, he claimed, it was a testament to the effectiveness of their boycott. 

Kwaito culture was similar to hip-hop in that it bred an entire youth subculture encompassing fashion, slang, and identity but its sound more closely resembled house music coming out of America and Europe. Eventually Kwaito went mainstream becoming “the de facto pop music of South Africa,” as one local academic wrote, “by virtue of the fact that black youth compromising 80% of the country’s population, are united in their enthusiastic support of it.” 

That was in 2003. So how did kwaito go from the defining sound of South Africa to being relegated to the textbooks of music history just the following decade? Improved standards of living played a part as many people moved out of the townships and into the suburbs. The Westernisation of South Africa’s music industry also played a part. But Professor blames it on a new beat style. "Kwaito breeds and creates new sounds and when that happens, they suddenly wanted to treat them as genres independent of kwaito,” he told Sowetan Live. “Take gqom and amapiano for instance - it is kwaito. They are trying to kill our music."

Malique China, an up-and-coming amapiano producer known as Unlimited Soul from the Reiger Park township near Johannesburg who spoke to Skylab Radio, doesn’t see it that way. He believes his brand of electronic music is on the cusp of global recognition and the future of South African music is bright. “It will surely exceed every genre that once was South Africa's biggest,” he says. “From the streets to the world.”

Like kwaito, amapiano was born in South Africa’s townships and presented a pathway out of destitute living conditions. “Growing up in unbearable conditions in a community raging with poverty, gang violence and so much more got me stuck on music,” the 19-year-old producer says. “I saw it as the only way out, there amapiano was waiting for me.” The genre is a lens into the struggles, and triumphs, of township life which manifest in the lyrics (often sung in local languages), choreography and music videos. One chart-topping amapiano hit ‘Samarian Boy’ by Musa Keys seeks to raise awareness of gender-based violence in South Africa. It's a reflective piece of music which sounds serene and optimistic despite the gravity of its raison d'etre.     

“As South Africans we are unique and our sounds originate from our stories,” Unlimited Soul says of amapiano which has seen a new generation of South African musicians come to the fore, bringing with them a modern street culture encompassing music, dance and fashion. It has become the defining sound of South Africa’s club culture, surging in popularity through TikTok where #amapianodance challenges gain millions of views. On Instagram, artists like 22-year-old Sowetan star Kamo Mphela and Joberg’s DBN Gogo (who Unlimited Soul has collaborated with) have reached influencer status with millions of followers between them. The genre's leading artists, possibly taking note from Boiler Room, have live streamed rooftop parties introducing the world to their movement via YouTube.

The music industry outside of South Africa has taken notice. Boiler Room obviously thought the rooftop parties were a vibe, showcasing amapiano heavy weights DBN Gogo, Virgo Deep, TxC and Mr JazziQ at an event in London. More recently they featured Musa Keys and other local artists at an event in Johannesburg. Online radio station NTS released a compilation ‘Amapiano Now’ showcasing talent from across the scene, including Unlimited Soul. Last year, English pop star Jorja Smith courted controversy in the scene after releasing an amapiano-inspired song which featured no South African artists. 

“Why I personally think amapiano is so popular is because a lot of people can relate to this new age sound as it is a combination of so much other genres and different sounds,” Unlimited Soul says. “A lot of people overseas just want to know.”

While amapiano is a culmination of its preceding genres, most notably kwaito and gqom, it is distinctly its own. Where kwaito production is raw and analogue, amapiano is overly produced and ready for modern sound systems around the world. The genre is instantly recognisable by its deep baselines and syncopated rhythms which creates surging momentum. The main element that sets it apart from kwaito – which also happens to be its most satisfying feature – is the absence of any kick drum. It creates a feeling of anticipation which is met with a realisation that the drop will never come. Without a kick drum to move to, you become hooked on the infectious, buoyant baselines. 

The future for amapiano and its artists looks promising. Many in the scene will be hoping their genre gains the international recognition Nigeria’s afrobeats received, taken global by artists like Burna Boy and Wizkid. At the same time, dedicated amapiano heads fear their genre will lose its authenticity as it gets appropriated by non-South African artists – the Jorja Smith example being case in point. Kwaito stalwarts like Arthur Mafokate and Professor, whose ground-breaking artistry paved the way for future generations of South African musicians, may have to resign to the fact that there’s a new beat in town and it’s going further than ever before.