Beatport chats with South African trailblazers Major League DJz on the continent’s Afro house renaissance, shifting soundscapes and the “African Dream.” Over time, Bandile and Banele Mbere have managed to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to pivotal ebbs and flows within the music industry, catching each new wave just in [...]
The fundraising event also featured a performance from the pioneering Amapiano duo Major League DJz. Black Coffee, South Africa's most illustrious DJ, used his international platform to give back to the youth of his country. Earlier in the month of November, the house music superstar brought together DJs and other local celebrities to St [...]
The concept release, a collaboration between Armada Music, Warner Music Africa and Africori, features amapiano reinterpretations of classic Ibiza house tracks A new V/A EP has been announced, 'AMAPIANO TO IBIZA', which sees amapiano reinterpretations of classic Ibiza house tracks. The concept - a collaboration between Armada Music, Warner Music Africa and Africori, a [...]
Amapiano has taken over the world, but despite its success, some of the genre's most influential creators are not getting the rewards they deserve. In the final instalment of our three-part series documenting Amapiano's Second Wave, Jake Colvin explores how South Africa's economic conditions and exploitation from established stars are adversely affecting young producers [...]
In South Africa, where inequality is rife, young and underprivileged producers are pushing the evolution of amapiano. In the second instalment of our three-part series documenting Amapiano's Second Wave, Jake Colvin explores how community generosity and collaboration helps artists innovate amid challenging conditions This article is the second in a three part-series about amapiano, exploring [...]
Amapiano’s lineage can be traced back to the kwaito music which emerged in apartheid South Africa. In the first of a three-part series exploring Amapiano's Second Wave, Jake Colvin examines what those roots mean for the sound today THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE IT “Amapiano is winning all over the gaff,” Marcus Nasty tells me. “But where it [...]
Pioneered by Thakzin and co-signed by Kaytranada, this twist on Afro house combines elements of amapiano, Afro tech and broken beat. Shiba Melissa Mazaza charts the genre's rise. It was a sweltering December evening in Johannesburg and I was perched onstage behind a speaker, only arm's length from the decks. All around me, a [...]
Uncle Waffles' international success represents an exhilarating era for southern African music. As her groundbreaking career continues its ascent, the Eswatini DJ, producer and performer speaks to Natty Kasambala about the ancestral power of log drums, the universal language of dancing, and touching grass It’s impossible to think of amapiano on the global stage without [...]
AfroTech is a prominent dance music style in clubs around the world — but in its country of origin the genre's future hangs in the balance. Setumo-Thebe Mohlomi reports on the need to support creativity and spirituality within South Africa's scene Waving hands reach for the sky, or something beyond it; some with flat palms [...]
In South Africa's burgeoning ballroom scene, pioneering figures and DJs are finding their own ‘Ha’ in the country's past, and in the contemporary sounds of gqom, amapiano, and Afrobeats. Tazmé Pillay learns more “DJ, cut the beat.” The room falls silent — an unforgivable sin anywhere else, but this is no nightclub. This is a [...]
