The Growth Of Amapiano Around The World Over The Years. Since 2019, Amapiano has emerged commercially as one of Africa’s hottest exports. It’s the latest South African music genre to see its artists on the global stage, with streams outside of Sub-Saharan Africa growing more than 563% on Spotify in the past two years.
Amapiano is a genre known for its versatility. And in the eyes of South African artist DBN Gogo, having the creative freedom to explore the genre in her own way has helped her as a musician. “It’s an interpretation. That’s what the music is about,” DBN Gogo remarked. “How do you interpret it? How do you see it? How can you put your own spin on it?”
Moroccan producer, audio engineer, and DJ Flomine said he believed that mixing the sounds of Amapiano with those of his own country has added another dimension to the genre. “When you mix Amapiano with traditional Moroccan music [gnawa], it connects people. And when you introduce live instruments, people just love it, as it’s changing culture,” Flomine said.
The appeal of Amapiano is rooted in dance and rhythm, and platforms such as TikTok have helped export the movement to millions all over the world—something Amapiano stars such as Kamo Mphela have been quick to pick up on. “I will always see dance as a global language because everybody can relate to that,” Kamo said.
