From the music studio to the dance challenge, from the lifestyle to the mpahla (slang for fashion), women have played a critical role in shaping and giving direction to the Amapiano movement. Women who are essential to Amapiano's success do not enjoy the comparative success of their male counterparts even though Spotify recorded an 87% growth in the streams of female Amapiano artists in 2023 compared to 2022.
Despite the effort, passion, skills, and talent that women have and continue to contribute to Amapiano's success, Spotify data shows that the top 10 most-streamed Amapiano artists are still men.
There are challenges that women in the global music sector face, which in the context of South Africa's youngest dance music style have become unique to South African music. To meet these challenges and work toward solutions, it is helpful for them to see positive examples of women whose careers dispel preconceived ideas about women in music. Also, creative solutions can be applied to. Indeed, the voices of women in Amapiano must be supported, celebrated, and amplified.
There is limited knowledge of female Amapiano producers during Amapiano's early development. When most Amapiano songs being released were instrumental, women were part of a core audience that attended events, shared the music, and advocated for the style within and outside of Amapiano circles. These contributions might be unknown, but it's vital that they're not ignored.
When Amapiano songs began including vocals, female vocalists played an important role in composing catchy choruses and creating phrases that the growing movement could rally behind. Kamo Mphela and Bontle Smith directed the aspirant ethos of Amapiano to Sandton when they sang, Ba re shebile, ba re galela, chomi areyeng Sandton, the chorus on the 2019 Sandton release by Kabza De Small and DJ Maphorisa. Similarly, Sandy Mrd captured the aspirations of many young South Africans when she sang on Dubai and also created a catchphrase that is still popular half a decade later.
Sha Sha's Tender Love has amassed more than 6.5 million listens on Spotify since its 2019 release, and her vocal presence on subsequent Amapiano releases is emblematic of a shift toward mainstream acceptance. Her singing exerts an identifiable influence on today's Amapiano singers.
The successful career trajectories of DBN Gogo, Kamo Mphela, and Uncle Waffles in particular demonstrate how taking the lead on releases has been extemporaneous with that of the Amapiano movement in South Africa and globally.
In 2022, DBN Gogo became a Spotify RADAR artist, enjoying editorial support, marketing, and promotion of her music locally and abroad. Her subsequent being named EQUAL Africa's March Ambassador and mint's Artists To Watch for 2024, alongside Uncle Waffles, proved to be a testament to the power of women in Amapiano.
Today, DBN Gogo has five tracks that have contributed to the export of Amapiano to various territories around the world. When it all began, DBN Gogo told Bubblegumclub, we never expected it to blow up the way it did. Piano was for us, and now it's literally for the world. I wish I could look into the future and tell you exactly how crazy it's going to be, but I have to wait and see just like everyone else. Today, uMa ka Ma (mother's mother), as she is known to fans, is headlining major events on the global dance music circuit.
Kamo Mphela not only channeled her popularity as a dancer on social media platforms to global musical success, but she also laid a pipeline for other women to follow. Reflecting on the role that technology has played in her career, Mphela says, Now technology has made it possible for you to be a boss girl without a male cosign. At first it was always about girls singing about going to Dubai. Now people are singing (scat) on a song. With 2023's Dalie, Mphela secured a top 10 all-time Amapiano song on Spotify. She is also in the top 20 of Spotify's most-streamed Amapiano artists from the past decade.
Uncle Waffles has helped dispel the sexist ideas about women being able to hold their own behind the decks. Since her career-launching viral moment where she's DJing an event that had partygoers enthusiastically chanting, Waffles, we want to party, she has demonstrated talent and grit, and become a sought-after DJ in the U.S., Western Europe, and the U.K. She has also become a successful artist, with two tracks, Yahyuppiyah (ft. Pcee, EeQue & Chley) and Tanzania (ft. Sino Msolo and Boibizza), that have helped export Amapiano to the world.
The female pioneers of the Amapiano movement have put paid to bigoted ideas about perseverance, musical skills, and the work ethic women have. And as the women in Amapiano amass accolades and reach new heights, they inspire the younger generation of female artists that now know whatever they dream is possible.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
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...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
21/04/2026
Cloud-based production isnt going anywhere, and BitFire is doubling down by prov...
21/04/2026
The topic of artificial intelligence has a stranglehold on the sports-video-prod...
21/04/2026
5G is still a hot topic in live event production, and this workflow continues to...
21/04/2026
At the 2026 NAB Show, Ed McGivern, GM and President of Appear US, discusses the ...
21/04/2026
Studio Network Solutions (SNS) has announced an on-premise AI suite designed for...
21/04/2026
Suite Studios has integrated its file-streaming technology into the newly announced Frame.io Drive, a desktop application from Adobe company Frame.io. The colla...
21/04/2026
Net Insight has integrated InSync Technology's FrameFormer into the Nimbra E...
21/04/2026
Fox Sports has selected Appear as a technology partner to support the next phase...
21/04/2026
Diversified has appointed Tyler Affolter as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) to lead the company's commercial organisation. The appointment follows the firm'...
21/04/2026
Layercake has formalised the integration of Bitmovin's video streaming infra...
21/04/2026
The International Judo Federation (IJF) has extended its distribution partnershi...
21/04/2026
Glookast has launched the Cinnafilm Tachyon plugin for its Media Producer and Me...
21/04/2026
Eutelsat has entered into an agreement with Cadena Tres, a division of Grupo Ima...
21/04/2026
Dolby Laboratories and TV Azteca have partnered to introduce Dolby Atmos immersive audio to free-to-air television broadcasts. The implementation utilises the A...
21/04/2026
FOX Entertainment partnered with Verizon to overcome significant production hurd...
21/04/2026
Osprey Video has announced its technology showcase for the NAB Show 2026, highli...
21/04/2026
Riedel Communications (Booth C4908) introduced a range of new solutions at NAB S...
21/04/2026
The NAB Show is in full swing, and the SVG and SVG Europe editorial teams are chasing down the hottest stories from all over the Las Vegas Convention Center. He...
21/04/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced the URSA Cine Immersive 100G, an immersive cinem...
21/04/2026
Clark Wire & Cable is continuing its evolution from cable supplier to full-scale solutions partner for broadcast and live production. At the 2026 NAB Show, we s...
21/04/2026
Rashad Frett attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Ricky at Eccles Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, UT. (Photo by George Pimentel/Shut...
21/04/2026
Five years ago, Spotify arrived in Pakistan, opening a new chapter in the country's music scene. Since then, local listeners have explored across genres, ge...
21/04/2026
Since its launch in 2020, RADAR has been our program for spotlighting emerging artists around the world. This year marks the sixth edition of RADAR Spain, our o...
21/04/2026
Offers compact wireless solution for pedalboards
Taiwanese audio brand Cloudvocal have announced the availability of a new pedalboard-friendly wireless syst...
21/04/2026
Latest hybrid sampling/synthesis instrument arrives
Arturia's Augmented series offerings rely on a mixture of sampling and synthesis, allowing users to ...
21/04/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to host Power Electronics Online Conference From Design to Vali...
21/04/2026
MAS and Lockheed Martin partner to establish an F-35 depot in Canada, enabling in-country sustainment and creating high-skilled aerospace jobs....
21/04/2026
Advertising strategies shift as competition grows for a large, active and qualit...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Layercake Deepens Bitmovin Integration to Power End-to-End Media Orchestration w...
21/04/2026
Cobalt Digital Announces Launch of blueCORE at NAB Show 2026: Compact Powerhouse...
21/04/2026
On-Premise AI Suite from Studio Network Solutions Debuts at NAB Show 2026
Melanie Ciotti April 21, 2026
0 Comments
Unlimited processing, no cloud depe...
21/04/2026
London, 21 April 2026 IBC today announced the appointment of Tim Banham as its first Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), a newly created role that reflects the or...
21/04/2026
Motion Design Tools - April 2026
Roland Kahlenberg April 21, 2026
0 Comments
Within 2 days, Maxon and Canva announced pro-level motion design apps - A...
21/04/2026
Chaos and Zero Density to Showcase Real-Time Ray Tracing for Virtual Studios and...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
From the music studio to the dance challenge, from the lifestyle to the mpahla (slang for fashion), women have played a critical role in shaping and giving direction to the Amapiano movement. Women who are essential to Amapiano's success do not enjoy the comparative success of their male counterparts even though Spotify recorded an 87% growth in the streams of female Amapiano artists in 2023 compared to 2022. 
