Top 5 Rising Amapiano Artists. Amapiano has become a world-conquering genre since emerging in South Africa over a decade ago, with the sound mutating in recent years to solidify its place as an embedded dance music culture.
Check them out:
Dankie Fuze
A Durban producer who got the opportunity to share his music when UK singer-songwriter Jorja Smith and Ghanaian producer GuiltyBeatz released their controversial take on amapiano, ‘All Of This’. Mpilo “Dankie Fuze” Ngcobo remixed it, winning the approval of amapiano fans across the world when his tweet of the track went viral. As well as producing his own music, Dankie Fuze is an audio engineer by day; he recently graduated from the Academy of Sound Engineering in Auckland Park, Johannesburg.
The Natal Piano Movement
Releasing a fiery gqom album in ‘The Legendary Edition’, which features artists from across the province, producers of Babes Wodumo’s hit, ‘Intombi Yesgebengu’, Demolition Boiz are part of a new wave of amapiano coming out of KwaZulu Natal, which they’ve collectively called The Natal Piano Movement.
Nhlonipho
From the team that brought us AKA and Ami Faku, Vth Season has another rising star in eSwatini-born Nhlonipho. Born in Mankayane, his musical journey began at home where he was inspired by his mother, who, like himself, is a teacher by day — she conducted choirs and taught him choral music from a young age. From the team that brought us AKA and Ami Faku, Vth Season has another rising star in eSwatini-born Nhlonipho. His latest single, ‘Uzanini’, from the six-track ‘Life I Got’ album, is a testament to his ability to test the boundaries between amapiano and deep house in a dreamy yet dancefloor-filling manner.
Thokozani Kabini
Thokozani Trevor Kabini (16) is a SATMA award nominated artist who was born on the 3rd of January 2006 at 1022 Thembalethu, Mpumalanga. Influenced by Ndebele Traditional Music at a tender age of 14, he began to pursue a music career by entering a Virtual Musical Competition hosted by the Ndebele Students Association in partnership with the Republic of South Africa’s Public protector’s office & Sony Music Entertainment, and came out 1st place in 2020. He has collaborated with big international acts such the legendary Dr. Nothembi Mkhwebane (Holder of the order of Ikhamanga & Multiple SATMA Awards), the SAMA winning musician KiD X, SATMA Award winners such as Lilow NTK & Mhlokonywa kaBungela, Platinum selling producer Gobi Beast and Given Zulu. He is currently signed under an independent label called TM GANG RECORDS and busy pioneering a sound called “MTHANGALA” which is a mixture of Ndebele Traditional Music, Afro-pop, Hip-Hop/Rap & Amapiano, all fused into one to make a soothing sweet concoction. His debut single “Mlelenjani” has been streamed across 16 countries globally on Spotify.
Theology HD
Midrand-hailing producer and DJ Theology Mathebula started making music in 2008, but it wasn’t until the release of a single named ‘Isegazini’, featuring Moonchild Sanelly and Aymos, that he became well-known on the amapiano scene. The track came as part of a campaign for Red Bull Music, which challenged the three artists to create a finished piece of work in just 72 hours.
