Amapiano producer and artist Mr JazziQ. Picture: mrjazziq/Instagram
After the success of his 2022 release All You Need Is Piano music artist and producer Mr JazziQ hosted a listening session to the sequel where Sony Music presented him with two multiple platinum plaques.
The two plaques, one being platinum the other being gold were for JazziQ’s hit songs Ungangi Bambi and Ningalali Emakhaya. The latter, which he received a gold plaque for is a song from All You Need Is Piano, which features artists from his stable, Black Is Brown Entertainment (BIB).
“It’s always nice to receive plaques but more especially nice for the artists who are signed to BIB to see how much the world appreciates them and their craft,” said JazziQ to The Citizen.
He said the gold plaque was particularly special to him because it was more of a collaborative effort with artists from his stable.
“I think for me the Justin and Pcee stuff, it’s not the norm and is heavily influenced by what we have dubbed chants of Moza and Mozacardi. So seeing their music reach gold and platinum status was a surprise a bit,” said the producer whose real name is Tumelo Manyoni.
ALSO READ: WATCH: Mr JazziQ releases ‘All You Need Is Piano II’
At the listening session the host spoke of how JazziQ came to Sony Music with the dream of wanting to sign 35 artists to his label and he’s well on his way to reach his target with at least 15 artists signed to Black Is Brown.
Being an artist himself, managing and being in charge of the careers of other artists has taken the toll of many artists in the past, but JazziQ stands on his decision to give people more opportunity.
“The problem is that people assume that just because someone is signed by me, I manage them,” said the muso.
“BIB is an institution with people who work within the business who manage me like they manage all the other artists at the stable. I’m treated like an artist just like the artists signed to us and have little to no influence on their management besides the A&R and production techniques of the business.”
All You Need is Piano 2 come out a week ago but has already been racking up the numbers on major streaming platforms. The single Hamba Naye has already been streamed just below 300 000 time on Spotify.
“We are [a] tight unit and family with our fans and to see our interpretation of dance music being this well received is a tap on our back.”
When asked about the future of Amapiano, JazziQ responds with unmatched bravado. “Amapiano won’t die, it will keep evolving and inject more money to the arts and create more platforms for artists to grow into other genres.”
NOW READ: PODCAST: Chillas session with Amapiano DJ and record producer, Mr JazziQ
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