Amapiano

A genre of dance music that emerged in South Africa’s Gauteng province, in the townships around Johannesburg and Pretoria, in the mid-2010s. Its name means “the pianos” in Zulu. It combines deep house, jazz, soul and lounge music with local styles such as kwaito and bacardi. Amapiano is slower and more laid-back than most house, typically around 110–115 BPM, with jazzy piano chords, airy pads, shuffling percussion and its signature log drum, a deep, percussive, pitch-bending bass sound. Producers such as Kabza De Small and DJ Maphorisa helped define it, and it spread through social media, dance challenges and streaming. By the early 2020s amapiano had become a global phenomenon, with hits such as Tyla’s “Water” (2023) and Tyler ICU’s “Mnike” and DJs like Uncle Waffles bringing it to international charts and festivals.