10 Facts About South Africa’s Amapiano Music
- Isizulu speakers refer to pianos using the term “Amapiano.”
- Amapiano is a subgenre of house music that was first performed publicly in South Africa in the year 2012.
- Katlehong, a township east of Johannesburg, is where Amapiano first found widespread success, but its beginnings are less clear. Different reports point to the musical genres of Soweto, Alexandra, Vosloorus, and Katlehong as its roots.
- Synths, airy pads, and wide percussive basslines are the defining elements of the Amapiano musical genre, which is a fusion of deep house, jazz, and lounge music.
- Amapiano is distinguished from other local house subgenres by its usage of high-pitched piano melodies, Kwaito basslines, low-tempo South African house rhythms from the 1990s, and Bacardi percussion, which is an alternative local house subgenre.
- Some people believe that Pretoria is where the genre first started because of the similarities between the Amapiano and the Bacardi.
- The utilization of the “log drum,” which is a wide percussive bassline and is thought to have been created by MDU alias TRP, is an essential component of the Amapiano musical style.
- The Amapiano gained popularity across Africa in 2019, with more digital streams and chart success in places far from its South African roots.
- The American online music retailer Beatport included the genre on its website in 2022, along with its own charts and playlists dedicated specifically to it.
- Producers, singers, and DJs who contribute to the Amapiano genre include Aymos, Boohle, Busiswa, Gaba Cannal, Focalistic, Lamiez Holworthy, JazziDisciples, Mr JazziQ, Josiah De Disciple, Killer Kau, Khanyisa, DJ Maphorisa, MFR Souls, Mpura, De Mthuda, Mvzzle, Nia Pearl, Reason, Rethabile Khumalo, Moonchild Sanelly, Sha Sha, Kabza de Small, Samthing Soweto and Young Stunna.
