Nigerian Afrobeats and Afropop Star Zinoleesky Opens Up About Amapiano Influence In His Career. Hailing from Nigeria, the current epicentre of Afrobeats and Afropop, Zinoleesky’s sound is already going global. ‘Personal’, the trap-infused lead single from his December EP ‘Grit & Lust’, recently charted in the Top 10 of the UK’s Afrobeats Chart while also nestling in the Top 15 of the equivalent US chart. Such early success, you feel, is only just the beginning.
By choosing not to align with the avant-garde nature of the country’s alté scene, which has seen the likes of Cruel Santino and TeeZee blur what typically is and isn’t Afrobeats, Zinoleesky’s music instead serves as a true celebration of the African continent’s current multitude of pop sounds. It notably pulls elements from Tanzania’s bongo flava and South Africa’s Afro-House and Amapiano, creating an infectious and original take on Afrobeats that has no doubt helped fuel his rise.
Speaking on the key influences of his street pop sound, the star said: “For the Amapiano sound in my music, it was more so [his go-to producer Niphkeys] because I never imagined I’d be making Amapiano. I just wanted to record a song that day and he played the beat for [one of Zinoleesky’s breakthrough hits] ‘Kilofeshe’. I liked it, and it became a hit. After that, though, I still never requested Amapiano. If I do, it’s because I liked the beat or my fans want another one. I never set out to make that sound. Earlier in my career, I was heavily influenced by Kizz Daniel: I could really connect with him and his songs back then. I feel I figured out my sound because of him, Mayorkun and people like that.”
