Amapiano

Although the genre gained popularity in Katlehong, the township east of Johannesburg, there is a lot of ambiguity and debate concerning its origins, with various accounts of the musical styles in the Johannesburg townships – Soweto, Alexandra, Vosloorus and Katlehong. Because of the genre's similarities with Bacardi, some people assert the genre began in Pretoria.[5][6][7] Various accounts as to who formed the popular genre make it impossible to accurately pinpoint its origins.[8]

An important element of the genre is the use of the "log drum", a wide percussive bassline, whose creation has been attributed to MDU aka TRP. Amapiano pioneer Kabza De Small stated:

I don’t know what happened. I don't know how he figured out the log drum. Amapiano music has always been there, but he’s the one who came up with the log drum sound. These boys like experimenting. They always check out new plug-ins. So when Mdu figured it out, he ran with it.[9]

For a list of amapiano producers, vocalists and disc jockeys, see: Amapiano musicians.

In 2019, the genre experienced increased popularity across the African continent with noted increases in digital streams and chart successes in countries far from its South African origin.[10]

In 2021, an awards ceremony was created that was dedicated to the genre, the South African Amapiano Music Awards.[11]

In 2022, the American online music store Beatport added the genre to its platform with its own dedicated charts and playlists.[12]

The genre was popular amongst young people on the platform TikTok, which saw various dance challenges being made, which fueled the dancing scene in South Africa.[13] Amapiano music has always been dominated by men. Women in South Africa are constantly fighting to change the narratives about how they helped the country advance. [14]