Top Artists Leading the Dominance of the Amapiano Music Genre in 2024
Amapiano's journey from a less-known sound in the 2010s to a predominant global sound over the last few years has been spectacular. Made into a commercially viable sound by the MFR Souls duo, Amapiano, which translates to "the piano," has even caught the attention of international artists such as Jay Z, Beyonce, and Rick Ross.
In this piece, we highlight the global impact of Amapiano music and the major artists making it a world-renowned genre.
Amapiano's global influence
Amapiano's unique blend of jazz, deep house, and Kwaito music has catapulted it to a global phenomenon. Within a decade, the music has gone from an underground sound in South Africa to making a crossroads with American pop culture. The log drum-peppered beats in Amapiano tracks have captured music lovers' hearts, pushing the sound to various facets beyond music.
Today, you can find Amapiano beats in dance, fashion, and online gaming. Even online casinos are considering adding it as background music in online slot games to improve user experience. On social media, Amapiano songs have garnered billions of views—on TikTok, the hashtag #Amapiano has over 10 billion views. Besides, Spotify data shows the genre has over 855 million streams, highlighting a 153% growth over the last decade.
In early 2024, South African singer Tyla won a Best African Music Performance Grammy for her Amapiano-infused Afropop hit "Water”. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first African song since 1968. This comes after Sha Sha, a Zimbabwean Amapiano vocalist, won the Viewer's Choice Best New International Act award at the 2020 BET Awards.
Here are other top artists leading the Amapiano movement.
- Uncle Waffles
Known for her electrifying DJ sets, Uncle Waffles typifies the exuberance associated with Amapiano. Born Lungelihle Zwane, Uncle Waffles has grown into an Amapiano sensation in less than 3 years. Her breakthrough came in 2021 after a 30-second clip filmed at an Amapiano grove in Soweto went viral. In no time, the clip went from 100,000 views to over 3 million in 48 hours.
Within a month, Uncle Waffles was fully booked for the whole year, beginning her journey to Amapiano stardom. Since Uncle Waffles has become a global phenomenon, embarking on multiple international tours, bringing along eccentric amapiano beats with her. She has had international shows in London's 01 Academy Brixton, Paris' Elysee Montmartre, New York's Brooklyn Steel, and The Brooklyn Mirage. Her Brooklyn Steel show tickets sold out in a couple of hours.
In 2023, Uncle Waffles became the first Amapiano act at the iconic Coachella festival. Her Coachella performance in California helped Amapiano break into the American music space. She has gone on to become a music maker, releasing hits like Tanzania, Yahyuppiyah, Peacock Revisit, and Wadibusa.
Major League DJz
A deejaying duo made up of twin brothers, Bandile and Banele Mbere, who first appeared in the South African music scene in the late 2000s. The duo is known for their Balcony Mix series during the pandemic but have raised the bar in South African music since the era of Kwaito. They blend African sonics with futuristic techno sounds for an immersive brand of party music.
Born in the USA, the duo was initially into hip-hop, deejaying in special edition parties honoring Western artists such as Fat Joe and 50 Cent. However, in the mid-2010s, they evolved into music creation, joining South Africa's wave of New Age Kwaito. They published their first Kwaito EP with Focalistc in 2019.
Within a year, they had embraced the new brewed sound of Amapiano just as it was gaining popularity during the pandemic. Since then, Major League DJs have signed a global recording deal with Atlantic Records and performed at the 2022 Coachella festival. They also sold out the O2 Academy Brixton in May and were nominated for the Best International Act in BET Awards 2022.
The duo has also worked with Major Lazer, releasing the Piano Republik LP, an album featuring artists from Nigeria, South Africa, and the USA.
DJ Maphorisa
DJ Maphorisa is another trailblazing deejay and producer in South Africa's house and Amapiano scene. He has been one of the top-streamed Amapiano artists on Spotify over the last decade. His real name is Temba Sekowe, and he is one half of the Scorpion Kings duo — the other DJ and producer is Kabza De Small.
DJ Maphorisa has produced Amapiano hits such as Abalele and Emcimbini, among other songs like Mafikizolo's Khona, Wizkid's Soweto Baby, Izolo, and Banyana. The DJ also coproduced Drake's hit song One Dance.
The Scorpion Kings duo has become considered the Godfathers of Amapiano. They have been credited with giving Amapiano a global appeal. In 2023, they were the most nominated artists in the Amapiano Awards 2023 for songs such as Kusela, Ba Straata, and Asibe Happy. They won the 2023 South African Music Award for Best Group of the Year.
Other notable Amapiano artists who have led this dominance are Kamo Mphela, MFR Souls, and DBN Gogo.
Find more Amapiano Songs on Amapiano Updates .
We are excited to get new music from our favorite African artistes. Amapiano Updates shares the newest and trending Amapiano and House ZA Music, Tubidy Songs, Mp3 Skull, Mp3 Juice.
Today, we have a song which you will want added to your playlist, and it surely comes from one of our beloved African artist. has been in the music scene for quite a time.
Fans and music lovers can now listen and stream the song from the artiste and share your experience or rate the song via the comment section below.
You can also follow Amapiano Updates and our Amapiano playlist to stay up to date with newest releases. Also subscribe to our YouTube Channel, Facebook Page, Spotify, or SoundCloud Channels.