Amapiano is a genre of music fromSouth Africa that became popular in mid-2012 with an earlier regular occurrence on South African radio stations in the early 2000s. It is a hybrid of kwaito,deep house,gqom,jazz,soul, andlounge music characterized bysynths and wide, percussivebasslines. The word "amapiano" derives from theIsiZulu word for "pianos".
There is no single "true founder" of Amapiano, as the genre's origin is a complex and evolving process with many influential figures, but MFR Souls are credited with coining the name, and artists like Kabza De Small, DJ Maphorisa, Calvin Fallo, and MDU aka TRP are consistently recognized as key pioneers who helped define and popularize the genre.[1]
As a result, there is ambiguity and debate concerning its origin, with various accounts of the musical styles in theJohannesburg townships.[2][3][4][5] Because it has some similarities withbacardi house,[6][7] some people assert the genre began inPretoria but it remains uncertain.[8][9][10] Various accounts of who formed the popular genre make it impossible to accurately pinpoint its origin.[5][11]
Amapiano is distinguished by piano melodies, deep house,soul, kwaito andlog drumbasslines. The genre'ssample packs often incorporate sounds sourced from gqom music. Bacardi, is often misperceived either as a subgenre of amapiano or having emerged in the 2020s.[15][4][16][17][18][6]
A popular element of the genre is the use of the log drum (anelectronic version of the West African originating log drum),[19][20] a wide percussive bassline, which was popularized in amapiano music by several producers such asMDU aka TRP. According to one of the amapiano pioneers,Kabza De Small, he asserts that:
"I don't know what happened. I don't know how he figured out the log drum. Amapiano music has always been there, but he's the one who came up with the log drum sound. These boys like experimenting. They always check out new plug-ins. So when MDU figured it out, he ran with it."[21]
The use of an electronic or the log drum sound in African music predates amapiano although the contrary is often misperceived, and was possibly developed from the traditional or acoustic West African log drum by kwaito pioneer M'du (also known as Mdu Masilela).[20][22][19]
Afropiano also referred to asNigerian amapiano, a blend ofafrobeats and amapiano, gained prominence in the early 2020s as a popular variant of afrobeats. Pioneers of the genre include Clemzy andL.A.X.[23][24]
Bique employs a prominently undulated log drum sound and derives its name from the Southeastern African country,Mozambique. Notable illustrations of bique are "Ize (Bique Mix)" by ZanTen and DJ SOL K, FOI and Jay Music's "Bique (Deep Groove)", songs.[18]
Bongopiano is a fusion genre that blendsbongo flava music and amapiano, emerging inTanzania during the 2020s. In the 2020s, numerous prominent Tanzanian musical artists includingDiamond Platnumz,Marioo, Harmonize,Nandy,Jux,Mbosso andZuchu released notable bongopiano songs.[25]
In the mid-2010s circa early 2020s, Gqom 2.0 emerged as a subgenre of gqom,[26][27] alongside other gqom variants for instance3-Step andsgubhu.[28][29][30] Gqom 2.0 is distinguished by a slowed-downtempo fused with elements of amapiano,afrohouse andafrotech.[27]
New Age Bacardi denotes the fusion of bacardi with amapiano that emerged circa mid-2021 illustrated by theMellow & Sleazy track "Trust Fund" which featured Kabza De Small,Mpura,Focalistic andDJ Maphorisa. DJ Maphorisa highlighted that Pretoria-based record producers played a key role in merging the musical styles and that the pace of new age bacardi had been slowed-down from the original fast-paced bacardi tempos.[7]
Ojapiano is a fusion of the traditionalIgbo instrumentỌjà and subgenre of amapiano which emerged in Nigeria in the early 2020s. The term was coined byKcee in the 2020s. There have been several pioneers of the genre since its emergence including Kcee,Snazzy the Optimist,Oxlade and renowned American pop rock bandOneRepublic.[31][32][33][34]
Popiano blendspop with amapiano.[35] A notable illustration is the 2021 single "Overdue" by record producers Kooldrink,DJ Lag and singer,Tyla which showcased a fusion of popiano and gqom.[36] Since popiano's inception Tyla has been deemed "The Queen of Popiano".[35]
Private school piano also known as soulful amapiano is distinguished by its use ofshakers, mellow log drum sounds and progressivechord sequences. Private school piano is primarily credited by DJ Jaivane. The genre frequently incorporateslive instrumentation, including the guitar, saxophone, violin and trumpet.[37]
Quantum sound is a genre characterized byre-edits, fundamentally rooted in and influenced by gqom, particularly thetaxi kick style. The genre is attributed to several record producers including RealShaunMusiq, Sizwe Nineteen and Nandipha808.[38]
In 2019, the genre experienced increased popularity across the African continent, with noted increases in digital streams and chart successes in countries far from its South African origin.[39][40]
In 2021, an awards ceremony was created that was dedicated to the genre, the South Africa Amapiano Music Awards.[41]
In 2022, the American online music storeBeatport added the genre to its platform with its own dedicated charts and playlists.[42]
The genre was popular amongst young people on social media platforms, where videos using amapiano music were uploaded, which fueled the dancing scene in South Africa.[43]
Amapiano music has always been dominated mainly by men. Social media users in South Africa are constantly fighting to change the narratives about how they helped the country advance.[how?][44] In October 2023, the afrobeats and amapiano fusion song "Water" byTyla gained international prominence following a viral bacardi house dance challenge on social media.[45] It became the first song by a South African soloist to enter theU.S.Billboard Hot 100 in 55 years,[46] and was a top 10 hit in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, the Netherlands, Sweden and New Zealand, where it reached number one.
South Koreangirl groupLe Sserafim took inspiration from amapiano for their track "Smart" off of their third EP,Easy.[47] Chinese rapper Vinida Weng blended amapiano with Fujianese rap for her track "Waiya!".[48] Egyptian artist TUL8TE made an amapiano inspired track entitled "Enty Crazy" in his album Narein.[49]
^abKalani; Camara, Ryan M.World Rhythms! Arts Program presents West African Drum & Dance: A Yankadi-Macrou Celebration. Alfred Music. p. 19.ISBN978-1-4574-2233-1.
