Amapia- nay or yay?
Last year, the Amapiano sound trickled into Nigerian airwaves and became popular with songs like Mayorkun’s “Of Lagos” and Davido’s “Heaven” to name a few.
In fact, the genre grew in popularity across the African continent in 2020, with notable gains in digital streams and chart victories in nations other than South Africa.
The Zulu phrase “Amapiano” means “the pianos”. The sound is a house music genre that originated in South Africa in 2012. Synths, airy pads, and broad and percussive bass lines characterize Amapiano, a combination of deep house, jazz, and lounge music.
High-pitched piano melodies, Kwaito bass lines, low-tempo 90s South African house rhythms, and percussions from another local house sub-genre called as Bacardi identify it.
Although the Amapiano genre became prominent in Gauteng, its beginnings are murky, with differing claims of musical genres in Johannesburg townships such as Soweto, Alexandra, Vosloorus, and Katlehong.
Because of the genre’s similarities with Barcadi, some people assert the genre began in Pretoria and there has been an ongoing debate about the origin of Amapiano.
Starting from the tail end of 2020 till date, virtually every A-list artiste has hopped on the trend to create the ‘Nigerian Amapiano’ sound to the delight of their fans.
Their experiment has so far paid off, as their songs not only top the charts, but also receive a lot of streaming and views on big online music sites. More importantly, most disc jockeys’ playlists include these tunes on a regular basis.
However, there is a feeling that Nigerian DJs are beginning to abuse the sound, literally every party you attend you hear it. Suffice it to say that, not every musician can effectively adopt the trend, despite how widespread it is and how easy it is to sing to.
This is becoming apparent as a few musicians muck up the sound.
The million dollar question on the lips of many now is, “is it time to let Amapiano go?”
#Unsolicited is a segment for reviews, opinion pieces and professional perspectives for various industries. This edition focuses on whether Nigerian artistes have abused the sensational sounds of Amapiano.
