Amapiano: Why South Africa’s house spin-off will be the sound of summer

Sign up to Roisin O’Connor’s free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music Get our Now Hear This email for free Get our Now Hear This email for free SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Last year, Barack Obama included amapiano hit “Uwrongo” by Prince Kaybee, Ami Faku, Shimza and Black Motion on his end-of-year playlist, while one of I May Destroy You’s opening scenes bursts with the booming vocals of De Mthuda’s “Shesha”, as Arabella and her friends shop in the market. Amapiano leans into South Africa’s jazz and classical history, with plenty of strings and smoky-sweet vocals, and is heavy on melody – its Zulu name translates as “the pianos”, which you can hear all over its tracks. Nigerian rapper Chinko Ekun’s sprinkled elements of the genre – signature keys and bass – into his latest single “Jafafa”. “Percy Tau”, from Kamo Mphela’s recently-released EP Nkulunkulu, pays tribute to the South African footballer playing Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League – the song could well be a South African answer to “Thiago Silva”.