MFR Souls On How They Created Amapiano Genre. The amapiano sound that emerged from Pretoria is distinct and upbeat. The genre inherits its name from the Zulu word (ama-piano) for ‘the pianos’, but its musical lineage is emerges with a heavy influence from kwaito, deep house, and jazz.
Some early adopters of the sound point to DJ and producer duo MFR Souls as its originators. Among the early adopters was DJ Stokie who popularised the sound in Soweto. “I heard this unique sound from these other DJs called MFR Souls from the East Rand and I loved it,” he told News24. MFR Soul, hailing all the way from Katlehong, began experimenting with different elements, mixing kwaito and the productions of veteran deep house DJs Clock and Bekzin Terris. The two, along with JazziDisciples from Alexandra and Kabza De Small from Pretoria, were known for playing what was then called iNumba, but MFR Souls changed the name when the keys became a prominent part of their compositions. And so the genre was born.
MFR Souls duo, real names Tumelo Eric Nedondwe and Tumelo Sam Mabe came with a new sensational sound in the house genre commonly known as amapiano. “It is true that we came u with amapiano sound. It’s a great feeling seeing the sound we created growing and being played internationally,” said the MFR Souls duo. “We released our first CD including the sound that you guys are doing, and as time went by people started calling it amapiano because it was mostly instrumental than vocals; and that was how amapiano came about,” they explained.
As the sound developed, amapiano became more than just music, it was an expression and validation of a way of life, with its own unique dress, talk and dance. The frequency of amapiano posts on social media confirms the genre’s massive popularity. In September 2020, the hashtag #amapiano reached more than 100 million views on TikTok, with new and established musicians sharing their music with the global community.
