Amapiano tracks that should be on your playlist this summer 

Barely a year old, amapiano is fast becoming the most popular new music genre in South Africa and, in the same way kwaito pushed the boundaries in the early 1990s, it is a testament to the unique ability of South African popular music to constantly reinvent itself.

Amapiano is a sound that is being described as a mix of deep house and Gqom mixed with a soulful jazzy piano sound. Its origin can be traced to Pretoria but amapiano now has an audience across the country, with fans and enthusiasts popping up in the UK and the US too, all thanks to the internet.

In a similar way to how kwaito captured the popular imagination and was seen as the voice of post-apartheid youth in South Africa, amapiano is finding wide pop-culture appeal among post-millennial South African youth who connect with tracks like Abagezi Abajoli and Let It Be.

Artists like Tall Ass Tee and The Soul Dictators are generally credited as the creators of the genre, but many others are joining the movement to create songs of their own. It’s uniquely local and set to be the defining sound of summer 2019.

The reaction from international YouTubers to amapiano tracks and music videos is both on the rise and overwhelmingly positive. International-based YouTube channels dedicated to reactions to music from across the world increasingly use amapiano as a mainstay of their content as seen on the Ubinifu Space channel (UK), Mansa Mayne’s channel (USA), and That Fire LA’s channel (USA).

Locally, the genre’s rise is tangible. Just recently an amapiano track featured in the Top Songs chart on YouTube Music in South Africa, going toe-to-toe with South African house, hip hop and gospel.

YouTube Music charts speak volumes about the appeal of both genres and specific songs and it’s looking very positive for amapiano. The YouTube Music Amapiano playlist features the top 10 songs, with Baby Are You Coming by Zero12Finest in number one position with more than 1 million views. Kokota (feat. Killer Kau feat. Mbali) by Bizizi & Kaygee DaKing has been viewed close to half a million times, with views of all the tracks on the playlist doing nothing but rising.

Five other amapiano tracks you need to be listening to right now:

1. Shesha by Njelic & DeMthuda
2. Ndakwenza Ntoni by Naak MusiQ & Bluelle
3. iGama (Main Mix) by Gaba Cannal featuring Dladla Mshunqis
4. Nomakanjani by Tallarsetee & MFR Souls
5. Lerato (feat. Deejay Junior SA) by The Lowkeys

Amapiano is just one of the YouTube Music playlists for South African music. Earlier this year the video-sharing platform also launched the following playlists, featuring SA music: Top Tracks, Top MzansiTop SA House, Top SA Hip Hop, Top Afrikaans, Top AmaPiano andmaPiano and Top SA Gospel and Soul.