In July, the Piano People took place in New York's Central Park, featuring performances by Kabza de Small and Maphorisa.
Like sport, music has the power to bring people together, and on Friday a celebration of Amapiano took place in London, where Africans danced together at the Piano People Festival.
“From three-step gqom to Afro-tech and Afro-house, covering all facets of South African dance music, the festival is a testament to the depth and diversity of African music,” Piano People organisers said ahead of the festival.
Founded in 2021, Piano People is a dance movement celebrating the amapiano genre in the UK, with a growing presence in UK venues such as Drumshed, London's Printworks, Ministry of Sound and Warehouse Project.
The Piano People in the Park line-up was international, featuring London-based Spanish DJ Sophie Emrow and Ghanaian DJ Kwamji, showing just how far the South African genre has come.
The performer list succinctly reflected the genre's South African origins, with South African artists such as Oskido, Young Stanna and headliners Kabza de Small and Maphorisa's duo, Scorpion Kings, prominently featured.
Also read: Kabza de Small reveals why he's the king of the Amapiano
Creators of Amapiano
In July, the Piano People took place in New York's Central Park, featuring performances by Kabza de Small and Maphorisa.
Last year, US rapper Swae Lee drew swift backlash from South Africans and had to apologise after he attributed the Amapiano sound to Nigeria rather than Mzansi.
The rapper, one half of hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd, tweeted his take on the trending South African genre, but drew backlash from South Africans after he accompanied the tweet with the Nigerian flag.
Wow, I didn't say who was the first one. I just said wait till you hear my Amapiano song 🧐 You all picked that song
— Swae Lee Lee Swae (@SwaeLee) July 12, 2023
His remarks inflamed a long-existing conflict between South Africa and Nigeria.
After Bafana Bafana faced Nigeria in the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year, which the Super Eagles won, a spat between South Africans and Nigerians culminated in West Africans claiming to own the amapiano.
Also read: Swae Lee apologises for saying Amapiano is Nigerian
By the numbers
Amapiano is South Africa's biggest musical export, with its viral dance routines and catchy beats.
- Local music consumption is on the rise in South Africa, expected to grow by 101% by 2023.
- While the industry remains male-dominated, female artists are gaining momentum: average streams for female artists increased 49% year-over-year in 2023.
- Amapiano tracks have been added to over 14 million playlists, a 566% growth rate between 2023 and 2018.
- In 2023, South African artists were discovered over 735 million times by first-time listeners on Spotify.
- The number of South African artists earning more than ZAR100,000 in royalties on Spotify alone has increased more than five-fold since 2018.
- In 2023, approximately 2,800 South African artists were added to Spotify's editorial playlists.
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