Amapiano Free Flp

[Fidelia Boldul]

Amapianoa South African music genre taken from the Zulu word for "pianos", is a subgenre of kwaito and house music that emerged in South Africa in the mid-2010s. It is a hybrid of deep house, gqom, jazz, soul and lounge music characterized by synths and wide, percussive basslines.

There is ambiguity and debate concerning its origins, with various accounts of the musical styles in the Johannesburg townships.[1][2][3][4] Because it has some similarities with bacardi house,[5] some people assert the genre began in Pretoria but it remains uncertain.[6][7][8] Various accounts of who formed the popular genre make it impossible to accurately pinpoint its origins.[4][9]

The word amapiano is a Zulu word that can be loosely translated to "the pianos",[10][11][12] The genre is mostly sung in one of South Africa's indigenous languages such as Zulu, Xhosa, and Southern Sotho , Northern Sotho, Setswana, English, Xitsonga, Tshivenda.

An important element of the genre is the prevalent use of the "log drum", a wide percussive bassline, which was popularised by producer MDU 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."[17]

In the mid-2010s circa early 2020s, Gqom 2.0 emerged as a subgenre of gqom,[21][22] alongside other gqom variants for instance 3-Step and sghubu.[23][24] Gqom 2.0 is distinguished by a slowed-down tempo and incorporates elements from amapiano, afrohouse and afrotech.[22]

Ojapiano is a fusion of the traditional Igbo instrument Ọj and subgenre of amapiano which emerged in Nigeria in the early 2020s. The term was coined by Kcee 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 band OneRepublic.[25][26][27][28]

Popiano blends pop with amapiano.[29] 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.[30] Since popiano's inception Tyla has been deemed "The Queen of Popiano".[29]

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.[36] In October 2023, the amapiano song, "Water" by Tyla gained international prominence following a viral bacardi house dance challenge on social media.[37] It became the first song by a South African soloist to enter the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 55 years,[38] and was a top 10 hit in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, the Netherlands, Sweden and New Zealand, where it reached number one.[39]

The genre's popularity has created a proliferation internationally. Examples of such are Nigerian artist Davido's "Champion Sound" with South African artist Focalistic. This track was a major hit, additionally the track "Monalisa" by Lojay featuring Chris Brown contains the signature "log drum", also known as the slit drum and other amapiano percussive elements.[40]

And then, out comes amapiano from the same perennially marginalized townships of Johannesburg (Alexandra, Soweto, and Vosloorus) and Pretoria (Mamelodi, Atteridgeville, Ga-Rankuwa, and Soshanguve). Fed on a steady diet of raunchy beats, youthful braggadocio, soulful house grooves, and the omniscient log drum, with sprinklings of Mamelodi Bacardi (a subgenre of house music), amapiano sprouted on the fallow ground of an increasingly tired music scene.

There are clubs and small platforms devoted to amapiano in London, and the form is also making inroads in other areas of the world, especially in Southern Africa and countries like Tanzania, Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria. The music now has its own annual awards ceremony to honor artists who have made important contributions, and it has been recognized as a valid genre by the South African Music Awards.

After its initial buoyancy, South African hip-hop reached what appeared to be a creative impasse. Perhaps its most obvious and persistent crisis is that it shamelessly mimics the US version, which is also at a dead end after its capture by a rapacious corporate culture. Moreover, once South African hip-hop attained mainstream visibility, it simply became too comfortable to sustain its creative hunger.

Amapiano, no longer an underground phenomenon, is presently drumming relentlessly on global ears. But there is the nagging feeling that, once it achieves considerable global prominence, it will be sapped of its life force, motivation, and inventiveness. Unfortunately, this is what usually happens when an underground genre transitions into the mainstream.

One of the main strengths of amapiano is an undiluted love of the groove, the roll of good times, and physical dissolution in the transports of rhythm. This trait was common to all Black music until the alarming turn contemporary hip-hop took. Breakdancing, or b-boying, which used to be an integral part of hip-hop culture, has been transformed, since its inevitable corporatization, into an international competitive sport. Suddenly, after the entrenchment of gangsta rap, it no longer seemed cool to know how to dance or dispense feel-good vibes.

If trap is an expression of societal fragmentation, amapiano gallantly announces the myriad possibilities of jazz, soul, house, and kwaito. Its adherents, in turn, believe in the catharsis, purification, and redemption proffered by the power of the groove. This kind of psychic and physical manifestation is nothing new. Some of it in fact dates back to the killing fields of American slavery that birthed spirituals, gospel, and eventually soul. Or even much earlier, when Africans found forms of release through a hallucinatory ascent into trance and communal rites meant to foster psychic renewal and social cohesion.

One hopes that fans of amapiano would not quickly get bored with the genre as they did with kwaito, Bacardi (another house music subgenre popular in the Pretoria townships of Mamelodi, Atteridgeville, and Soshanguve in the mid-2000s), and, lately, gqom, a frenetic Durban-spawned house subgenre. Any genre, in order to survive, requires considerable reserves of patience and fortitude in the face of overwhelming opposition. For now, amapiano appears to be winning. If it atrophies and becomes extinct, the fault would probably be with its own ranks.

Watching gorgeous women gyrate like boneless mermaids in the clubs of Cape Town, Pretoria, and Johannesburg is quite an experience. It is also pleasing to behold men lose themselves in captivating rhythms, the transformations wrought by the groove.

Amapiano is now at a critical crossroads, poised to transition into fully monetized international contexts where it could earn big bucks and endorsements, and probably also lose its creative essence in the process. Or it could fight fiercely to retain its hard-won independence and creative vision to the detriment of wider global traction. The first scenario is more likely to occur. Already Reece Madlisa and Zuma (collectively called Amaroto, township slang for huge ghetto rats) have signed on with Sony Music Africa.

To be sure, it has been exciting to watch a new genre spring from the deprived townships of the Gauteng Province and take its chances by leaping onto the global stage. The genre seeks to reconnect with the inclusive, cathartic, and liberatory heart of popular dance music, and it deserves to be savored by all those who cherish unfettered creativity not yet captured by visionless corporate interests.

Featured image: Moses Eaton Jr., Section of Stenciled Plaster Wall and Lating, year unknown. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Edith Gregor Halpert, licensed by CC0: public domain. Accessed October 14, 2022.

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One of the key elements of amapiano is its use of piano melodies that are often played live, with a focus on improvisation and experimentation. This makes each performance unique and different, and it is not uncommon for DJs to incorporate other musical elements like drums, saxophones, and basslines into their sets.

Some of the most popular amapiano artists include Kabza De Small, DJ Maphorisa, MFR Souls, Focalistic, and Lady Du, among others. Kabza De Small and DJ Maphorisa, who often collaborate on tracks, are widely considered to be the pioneers of the genre and have been instrumental in its rise to fame.

Kabza De Small is widely regarded as one of the first popular amapiano artists and a pioneer of the genre. He began his music career in 2009 as a DJ, and eventually transitioned to producing amapiano in the early 2010s. As for where he first performed, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact location or event.

Another milestone in popularity came later that year when Live AMP a show on SABC1 (the South African Broadcasting Corporation is seen in header), televised a live DJ mix of Amapiano. This exposure sparked the curiosity of the public and generated huge buzz that lead to more Amapiano releases which were then widely shared on social media platforms pushing it into the global spotlight. This is why we highlight this location as a key point of origin of the genre.

Amapiano is a unique and distinctive genre of house music that has gained popularity in South Africa and beyond. Its early emphasis on piano melodies has evolved but its slower rhythms, and heavy bass grooves combined with its fusion of different musical elements, has made it a favorite in clubs and music festivals around the world. With artists like Kabza De Small, DJ Maphorisa, MFR Souls, Focalistic, and Lady Du leading the charge, the future looks bright for the amapiano scene.

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