The sound of Amapiano is like prolonging moments when, in South African townships, the sounds of everyday living merge with the music that forms the bedrock of daily life there. Before dawn, a hymn sung while sweeping might match the rhythm at a nearby lala vuka (all nighter). One afternoon, the rain overhead might intensify to match an aunty or uncle's favorite part of a jazz song. Nobody's dog could bark an ad-lib to the bassline playing in a passing car. Amapiano plucks what is almost in the township air and originates sound, dance, fashion, lingo, and overall culture from that.
Amapiano was invented in the townships at the outskirts of South Africa's towns and cities. Known as kasi in slang (derived from the Afrikaans lokasie), the township was created by apartheid spatial planning to house Black people. Dikasi (plural) were designed to be barren places where nothing would grow. But instead, South African townships became greenhouses for culture-especially music-to germinate, take root, and become sources of life for the oppressed people living in them.
Amapiano borrows its keys and melodies from jazz and gospel, its drums and tempo from house music and diBacardi, while Kwaito loans Amapiano its basslines and harmonies.
Jazz music grew in South Africa in step with its popularization in the United States. It became not only a source of entertainment, solace, and escape, but also an instrument with which Black South Africans fought against apartheid. You need only look at the names of some current and past Amapiano acts to make the connection between jazz and Amapiano-Jazzi Disciples, Mapara A Jazz, and Mr. Jazziq are a few. One of the other ways Amapiano borrows its melodies from jazz is by reworking South African jazz standards. Focalistic does this to great effect by using the melody from guitarist Jimmy Dlulu's Winds of Change on his Tiya Mfana release with DJ Tshegu.
Gospel music, especially choral, has been composed and sung in churches, homes, at funerals, celebrations, and anywhere else a higher power needs to be summoned in South Africa. Some of Amapiano's most popular singers developed their voices in the church. For example, vocalist Babalwa M, who frequently collaborates with Private School Amapiano Dean of Faculty Kelvin Momo, told True Love magazine, I lived in a Christian house, I obviously used to go to church. So, we used to have youth services and we'd have an opportunity to showcase your talents.
Kwaito music was the sound of a generation both witnessing and creating a nonracial, democratic South Africa. The slowed-down dance songs from across the world matched with young South African vocalists in the 1990s, and together they created Kwaito, the iconic sound of the country's liberation.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Afro, Deep, and Tribal House became popular as access to records from outside the country became increasingly available and affordable. This helped to develop South African dance music's groove sensibility. And when diBacardi entered the scene, mushrooming from Pitori, the greater Pretoria area, it also grew into an important influence on the South African dance music scene.
The styles of music that Amapiano borrows from are still popular in South African townships and continue to cross-pollinate, influencing each other while remaining firmly grounded in their own respective histories.
The last time we saw a uniquely South African genre paint a clear picture of the state of South African groove culture was with Kwaito spearheaded by youth. What Amapiano has managed to bring with it from the ground up locally and eventually globally, is admirable, not only from a music point of view but also cultures'', says Phiona Okumu, Head of Music at Spotify Sub-Saharan Africa.
At first, Amapiano had a divisive ethos. Little was known about this movement and the music at the center of it by observers outside its circles of initiates. Generally, Amapiano punters were notorious for brazenly pursuing epicurean excess. Kabza De Small and Lehleza released the Amabele Shaya Remix music video as the tide began to turn for this style of music. For outsiders, that music video was a glimpse into a culture that was seductively inaccessible. Amabele ebusweni bendoda / Amabele ebusweni bendoda / Amabele ebusweni bendoda / Amabele ebusweni bendoda (roughtly translated to breasts on a man's face ) a tank-topped, sweaty Leehleza repeats the song's refrain to partygoers in a nondescript warehouse. Many wanted to be in that video, while also happy to be a safe distance away.
The greater South African population had another taste of this sweet taboo in Semi Tee, Miano, and Kamu Dee's Labantwana Ama Uber, in which the chorus is a thinly veiled reference to drug use and sex. Amapiano music was being lapped up and danced to by all South Africans and creeds by the time Mapara a Jazz, Colano, and Ntosh Gazi's John Vuli Gate became a hit single, dance trend, and the reason for the most modest and upright citizens of the Rainbow Nation to collectively clutch their beaded necklaces and kiss their teeth in disapproval.
Since then, the Amapiano movement has evolved in different directions. Its dominance of mainstream music in South Africa and entry into the global dance music arena made it necessary for producers and vocalists to consider different styles of Amapiano to fit different occasions.
Over the past decade, Amapiano has watered and warmed the wildest dreams of its artists, most of whom come from the underserved townships at the outskirts of the Gauteng province's cities. And where there were scraggly shrubs of careers not so long ago, there is now a forest of artists, managers, choreographers and dancers, stylists, content producers, and other professions beginning to thicken all thanks to the
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
27/01/2026
January 14, 2026
We are proud to share that 25 Ontario, First Gulf's commercial project located just two minutes from our head office, has been recognized ...
27/01/2026
January 22, 2026
First Gulf is excited to share that a full-building lease has been secured at 625 Bronte Rd in Oakville, part of Bronte Station Business Park,...
27/01/2026
January 23, 2026
First Gulf continues to demonstrate its commitment to high-performance, sustainable real estate with 351 King Street East achieving BOMA BEST ...
27/01/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
27/01/2026
Nielsen will continue to drive growth and provide local audience measurement
in...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Amagi Media Labs Limited, the only cloud-native SaaS provider offering end-to-end solutions across live production, content preparation, distribution, and monet...
27/01/2026
Miri Technologies Inc. today unveiled its V410 live 4K video encoder/decoder for streaming, IP-based production workflows and AV-over-IP distribution. Designed ...
27/01/2026
The Paul E. Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell in Massachusetts has chosen Ikegami cameras for incorporation into its broadcast-quality television production facili...
27/01/2026
SipRadius, specialists in secure, low latency media transport, will show the pro AV community its end-to-end solution for high quality content distribution and ...
27/01/2026
Hiltron will highlight the fruits of its 45-plus years of experience in satellite communications system integration and product development at the annual GovSat...
27/01/2026
Klvr will demonstrate how its Charger Pro solution is delivering cost reduction and performance benefits for live entertainment and pro AV markets at ISE 2026 (...
27/01/2026
Amino, a global media technology leader in enterprise video and digital signage, today announced that its Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2026 booth (4N700) wil...
27/01/2026
ANI, India's leading news agency and a major content provider across the Asia Pacific region, today announced a significant expansion of its long standing p...
27/01/2026
Independent analysis confirms faster encoding, lower CPU usage, and improved perceptual quality compared to CBR and CRF
VisualOn, a leader in multimedia playba...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
New agreement for uninterrupted UHF connectivity for Australian Defence Force through 2033, With Options Extending to 2041
Luxembourg, January 13, 2026 - Satel...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
When It Feels Real, Is It Still a Lie? The Art of Sarah' ...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
That Night premiering on Netflix March 13
Entertainment
27 January 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
DOWNLOAD THE KEY ART
DOWNLO...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Revealed the Future of Mexican Stories Coming in 2026
Entertainment
27 January 2026
GlobalMexico
Link copied to clipboard
Among t...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
Four New Japan Titles Announced for 2026: Viral Hit', On...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
What's Next on Netflix from Japan: Expanding the Possibili...
27/01/2026
AI, graphics and virtual software power new production capabilities...
27/01/2026
RT Supporting the Arts is delighted to support a dynamic programme of cultural events taking place across Ireland this February. From visual art, film, music, ...
26/01/2026
Music videos play a huge part in how fans connect with their favorite songs, but...
26/01/2026
NAIDOC launches 2026 theme 50 Years of Deadly , marks major milestone
25 January, 2026
Media releases
The National NAIDOC Committee has today unveiled its...
26/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
26/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
26/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
26/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
26/01/2026
Advanced Systems Group (ASG) today announced an exclusive partnership with Nu Studio, the company behind the first modular, portable studio designed for immersi...
26/01/2026
OpenDrives, the leader in high-end video data management and workflow solutions, today announced an add-on investment to its previous funding rounds, led by IAG...
26/01/2026
SmallHD today announced a major update to its award-winning PageOS software, introducing Fleet Control, Portrait Mode, expanded Camera Control features, and Dow...
26/01/2026
Whether rigging a PTZ on a truss, sliding a Blackmagic camera across a mezzanine railing, or capturing the mayhem from inside a drum, Filipic delivers visuals t...
26/01/2026
26 Jan 2026
VEON Unveils the New Beeline Uzbekistan Network Operations Center, ...
26/01/2026
Bookish is created by and stars Mark Gatiss
Images available HERE
Following th...
26/01/2026
Monday 26 January 2026
New Sky Original Series explores Entertainment Juggernaut, The X Factor
Sky today confirmed it has greenlit a premium, definitive docum...
26/01/2026
Monday 26 January 2026
Sky confirms major investment to transform Livingston ca...
26/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils Official Trailer for Salvador
Entertainment
26 January 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
DISCOVER THE TRAILER
DO...
26/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Presents Our 2026 Series and Films and Announces New Projects
Entertainment
26 January 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
...
The sound of Amapiano is like prolonging moments when, in South African townships, the sounds of everyday living merge with the music that forms the bedrock of daily life there. Before dawn, a hymn sung while sweeping might match the rhythm at a nearby lala vuka (all nighter). One afternoon, the rain overhead might intensify to match an aunty or uncle's favorite part of a jazz song. Nobody's dog could bark an ad-lib to the bassline playing in a passing car. Amapiano plucks what is almost in the township air and originates sound, dance, fashion, lingo, and overall culture from that.
