Think you know everything about Gqom? Have you heard Afrikaans Gqom?

The thing about music is that it evolves beyond the location it was established in or its brainchild.

Take Hip Hop for instance, it was founded in the mid-70s in Brooklyn, New York, by black youth, but the genre has grown massively since then and has been adopted by millions of people worldwide.

From Durban tot die Kaap

Now Gqom, an electronic dance music genre created in Durban about a decade ago, has spread its influence far beyond the bedroom studios in KZN.

According to Henco Harmse, Spotify’s Afrikaans Specialist Manager, Afrikaans Gqom brings in some of the biggest numbers on the streaming platform.

“People might not realise how diverse a range of genres female Afrikaans artists play in,” said Harmse.

“But in addition to traditional genres such as pop, praise and worship, and country, there are Afrikaans-speaking women doing really interesting things in genres such as Gqom, Hip Hop, and dance.”

Spotify data also shows that female Afrikaans artists are catering to a broad range of age groups. While the biggest age group is listeners aged 35 to 44, a large portion of the listeners are younger than 34, suggesting that there is still significant youth appeal among these artists.

Those young listeners have flocked to playlists such as one called “VAAIBS” (a slang translation of vibes) aimed at Gen Z listeners. VAAIBS covers a broad range of genres and includes artists as diverse as Angie Oeh, Anzelle, and Marissa. 

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Five of the biggest Afrikaans Gqom artists

Below are five of some of the biggest names in Afrikaans Gqom, who feature prominently in Spotify’s Gqom Afrikaans playlist:

Temple Boys Cpt

According to their website, the group is made-up of four boys from the Cape Flats. Their biggest song to date is Saggies which is included in their 2022 release, The Goats EP Vol.2. They have four projects under their name, with the latest release, The Goats Album, that was released in July.

Jay Music

Jay Music is one of the Afrikaans artists who has a slew of projects under his name. Although not fully Gqom, his music has shades of Amapiano and his sound is more nuanced than most.

His song Hoekom featured in the Spotify Gqom Playlist is on his Deep Grove Volume One. Some of his biggest tunes include Fxckin Injury and his version of House classic, Casablanca.

Dlala ikamva Badlalele ikamva

This duo’s biggest song is Hit & Run which is uncannily similar to Destruction Boyz’s Omunye. They have more than 3 000 monthly listeners on Spotify, with Hou Jou Lat Vas being another of their big hits. They haven’t released a body of work since 2021’s True Colours.

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Barkie Vieslik

For someone without a project on his Spotify profile, but only singles, Barkie Vieslik has a good following with just under 14 000 monthly listeners.

First Class Umlando is his most streamed song with more than 85 000 plays, while his other big song Vieslik Vyand has been played 70 000 times.

Weh Sliiso

The producer is one of the most recognisable names in the Afrikaans Gqom space having being featured in a number of projects.

He released his debut project last December, Gqom Genesis Chapter 1. His monthly listeners are also north of 13 000.

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