Johannesburg - Popular music streaming giant Spotify is hosting media and influencers from across the continent on an Amapiano Tourism experience that shares the roots of the popular music genre.
The experience also explores the power of collaborations and how streaming is helping to export local music around the world.
Widely recognised as one of South Africa's hottest cultural exports, at the moment, amapiano has also been dominating charts globally.
Designed around some of Spotify’s most popular amapiano playlists, the tour highlights South African and amapiano culture for guests from Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa.
In partnership with South African Tourism, it starts with amapiano 101, detailing the background of the genre and giving guests a tour of its origins in townships like Mamelodi while also exploring other popular amapiano spots in Soweto.
The amapiano Grooves segment of the tour showcases the impact of clubs on music.
The tour also tells a cultural story, like Mogodu Monday, the tradition of celebrating the least popular day of the week with mogodu (or tripe) and music, and allows participants to meet with local artists in the studio and see where the music happens.
Managing Director for Spotify in Sub-Saharan Africa, Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy, said: ‘’Amapiano's unique sound and infectious beats have captivated audiences around the world and are sure to keep fans dancing for years to come. As more artists emerge and push the boundaries of the genre, there is no doubt that amapiano is set to become a mainstay in the global music scene."
One of the top five amapiano artists in South Africa, Focalistic, dropped by for the first leg of the tour at one of the birthplaces of amapiano, Jack Buhda in Mamelodi, to share the genre’s origin story.
"We would come here and listen to amapiano sets for three hours. We wanted to escape from the noise and do our own thing as Africans, speaking in our tongue. Amapiano makes an imprint, its emotions. Amapiano is spiritual," said the Champion Sounds artist.
Spotify data tells the story of just how popular amapiano is right now, both at home and all around the world, with close to 2 billion streams last year, representing a 143% increase year on year.
The genre has garnered a huge following, with more than 240K playlists featuring amapiano in the title and over 10 million playlists featuring at least one amapiano track. What's more, over 40% of amapiano streams come from listeners outside South Africa.
The Star