Who Popularized Amapiano, South Africa Or Nigeria? – Black Twitter Weighs In. With its speaker-rattling bass lines, melodic rhythms and syncopated breakbeats, amapiano quickly became a major player in South Africa’s music scene. The piano-based sound is paired with clapping snares and catchy vocals, with accompanying routines perfect for the dance floor.
It all began after a troubleshooting Twitter user claimed that Davido brought Amapiano to Nigeria and made it successful, and Wizkid’s latest single ‘Bad To Me’ which is an Amapiano sound is a result of Davido’s influence. Often, Western media is quick to forget Africa is a large continent filled with different countries that preserve their individual qualities and cultures while still contributing to the African continent as a whole.
Yesterday’s reactions reopened an ongoing conversation about ownership of Amapiano, and Nigerian music’s adaptation of it. South African fans rightfully feel credit should be given to their artists for the genre they’ve popularized. The question that lingers is whether there is, or should be a line between creators and adopters. Even the likes of Davido, DJ Maphorisa, KDDO and May D weighed in.
The broader misconception of lumping together various African places and practices still plays a big role in global perceptions. For example, African music in recent years has been conveyed under the encompassing term Afrobeats, even though a multitude of genres exist across the continent, sometimes coming together to create something new.
See some of the reactions below:
