The advent and prominence of the amapiano subgenre in South Africa has been the most exciting to experience. Also known as ‘the yanos’ on Twitter, The uniquely South African subgenre of house music has taken the new age nightlife scene by storm since 2016. Tracing the origin of Amapiano is a bit tricky mainly because it started in backdoor bedrooms and garages in the deepest parts of the townships. 

“If you put one hundred guys in a room and ask them where amapiano started you will get one hundred answers and some very heated debates,” said Simphiwe Ngwenya, co founder of born in Soweto, a homegrown label that’s backed amapiano since its early days.

Some of the key players in the  amapiano culture include self proclaimed King of AMapiano, Kabza de Small, DJ Maphorisa, JazziDisciples, MFR Souls, Mark Khoza, and the list goes on. The genre also boasts of other prolific producers like Virgo Deep, De Mthuda and Dj papers as other notable players in the genre. 

Cape Town took a while to embrace the eclectic sound of Amapiano but it’s getting there. With venues like Kind Regards hosting weekly ‘Amapiano Sundays’ for students and lovers of groove alike. Rands in Khayelitsha has also been a key figure in pushing the Amapiano agenda in Cape Town. 

Check out this trending Amapiano song ‘Mapara A Jazz – John Vuli Gate [Feat Ntosh Gazi & Colano]’ here

Comment what your favourite Amapiano song is below