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Nigerian artists have invested greatly in the South African Amapiano sound, infusing Afrobeats elements and giving the world unforgettable jams. So if you fail this Amapiano quiz as a Nigerian, pack your things and go find your real country.
Questions
This is a question
Complete these lyrics: “I’m happy, I know, Amapiano, _________”
What Naija Amapiano song recently got removed from streaming sites. It rhymes with “Alagba, faraway”?
What spot in Lagos is popularly known for throwing Amapiano parties?
As a Nigerian, what’s your expected response to “No matter where you go, remember the road that’ll lead you home”
Which artist was the face of Nigerian Amapiano in 2023?
Which Nigerian song did CAF play to celebrate South Africa when they scored against Morocco in a 2024 AFCON match?
Which Nigerian artist introduced the Amapiano sound to DJ Maphorisa?
Who did Davido feature on “Champion Sound”?
Who made the club-banging “Ameno Amapiano”?
Complete this sentence: “You wanna bamba, ______”
You got #{score}/#{total}
You’re a big vibe, all the girls dem know!
You got #{score}/#{total}
Not bad. You’re a party rider.
You got #{score}/#{total}
Who do we have here? AN IMPOSTER! A FAKE PATRIOT!
Our Valentine Special is out now. We brought back three couples – one now with kids, one now married and the last, still best friends – to share how their relationships have evolved in the last five years. Watch the first episode below:
South African-born Tyla Laura Seethal became the first-ever winner of the Best African Music Performance Grammys Award on February 4th, 2024. Since her hit song Water took the international stage by storm in 2023, she’s been one of the most promising global stars rising from Africa.
We made a timeline of her journey from Jo’burg to the Grammys.
2019 — Tyla, Garth von Glehn and Getting Late
Tyla had just graduated from high school and started posting singing and dancing covers on social media when a photographer named Garth von Glehn discovered one of her Instagram videos. She mistook him for an online scammer until he met her parents to discuss managing her in 2019.
Throughout that year, she and her bestie and stylist, Thato Nzimande, spent weekends writing and recording songs at von Glehn’s studio until she met South African DJ and music producer, Kooldrink, and recorded her eventual debut single, Getting Late. This was when she picked up her Popiano sound, a fusion of amapiano and afrobeats with R&B and pop music.
2021 — Epic Records deal and Blood & Water series
After a quiet COVID year, writing and recording, Tyla signed to Epic Records — home to Mariah Carey, Travis Scott, DJ Khaled, the late Michael Jackson, among other icons. This happened in a joint venture with the Jo’burg/New York-based music company, Fax Records, in 2021. Soon after, she dropped her next song, Overdue, a collaboration between Tyla and DJ Lag, a South African DJ, producer and pioneer of the gqom genre (a style of electronic dance music). The song was featured in the season two trailer of Netflix’s South African hit series, Blood and Water.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpVTPaBpJEU
2022 — Nomination at SAMA
Getting Late music video was nominated for “Best Video of the Year” at the 28th edition of the South African Music Awards (SAMA). At this point, it had amassed several million views on YouTube. She didn’t win, but the nod was a big deal for such a new artist on the scene. In November, Tyla released To Last and made a remix with DJ Maphorisa and Young Stunna.
Source: Ubetoo
2023 — Tour with Chris Brown and breakout hit
In January, Tyla released the dancefloor jam, Been Thinking. At Tricky Stewart’s Grammy party later that month, the head of Epic Records, Sylvia Rhone, asked Tyla if she’d like to open Chris Brown’s “Under the Influence” Europe and UK tour. She joined the tour on February 14th, solidifying her audience base, especially in the U.S.
Source: Tenor
For the first episode of our Valentine Special, we brought back three couples – one now with kids, one now married and the last, still best friends – to share how their relationships have evolved in the last five years. Watch below:
During the tour, she attended Dolce & Gabbana’s Fall/Winter 2023 runway show, where she was seen with Kim Kardashian and performed at the after-party. She also featured Ayra Starr on her next promotional single, Girl Next Door, in May, and dropped what would be a life-changing global hit — Water — in August, the same month during which her iconic choreo went viral. Water debuted at number 67 on the US Billboard Hot 100, the only South African song to do this in 56 years, since Hugh Maskela’s Grazing in the Grass (1968).
Source: Jacaranda FM
In October, Tyla made her U.S. TV debut on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, performing Water. The same month, Water was considered for nomination for the Best African Music Performance at the 2024 Grammys Awards. In December, Tyla released her self-titled introductory EP. The project opened with Water and ended with its remix, but has now been extended to a full album coming on March 22, 2024.
2024 — First platinum, Grammy nomination and win
In January, Water was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. On February 5, Tyla won the first Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance with Water, among nominees like Nigeria’s Davido, Burna Boy, Asake and Olamide.
Source: Yahoo
The year is still young; who knows what more it’ll bring the aspiring global African popstar.
American rapper, Swae Lee’s tweet went viral on July 11, 2023. But the Nigeria flag in his tweet didn’t help. South African thinks he gave credit to Nigeria.
Enraged South Africans virtually pounced on him and Nigerians for trying to rewrite history and not giving credit to the originators of the sound. It’s understandable, since they’re not wrong with their claims; Nigerians have been talking about the South African sound with ownership because several Nigerian artists have made popular hits with it.
woooooah I never said anything about who was the first guys I just said wait until y’all hear my amapiano songs 🧐 y’all reached for that one
Swae Lee tried to clear the air about the context of his tweet but no one cared.
You have always been confused, since the day you said you don’t have a type and then mentioned a type. Nothing in you has clarity. Your group name is “Ear Drummers” backwards and you are carrying that mentality into your thinking too. So, read this in reverse: Kesteov! Unusm! https://t.co/Ode8TzU48T
Imagine the audacity of Nigerians. Repeating Amapiano on a shit beat does not make a song Amapiano neither is rehearsing South African dance moves with flat backs make you part of the culture. The nerve.
No culture grows if you gatekeep it. But the failure to give due credit to its roots is a disservice to it. Which is why Zikoko has come to do what’s right with a peace offerings to reconcile us with our dear Mzansi family.
First of all, stop all the lies
Amapiano didn’t start in 2021, nor did it start this year. These are bold claims; we shouldn’t engage cap like these
Asake did wonders with Amapiano as a whole and elevated it globally
There is evidence that amapiano didn’t start in Nigeria and it has been around the world before it got popular here.
Dissolve the “Afropiano” title
What does afropiano even mean other than a shameless way of appropriating the amapiano culture? Let afrobeats be Nigerian and keep amapiano South African. Both can lovingly coexist.
Or South Africa can have Asake
His two album’s sounds are dominantly amapiano. He even titled a recent single of the same name. Maybe it’s a cry for naturalisation. Who knows?
In fact, they can have afrobeats too
If all afrobeats credits are given to South Africa for a year, I’m sure Nigerians won’t be annoyed . Music crosses borders, right? After all, we’re all one; African brothers and sisters.
The biggest Nigerian artist right now literally has a song called Amapiano and credit wasn’t given. That’s appropriation right there. This is about the Nigerian music industry in general, and credit can be given in the form of working with SA producers, collaborating with SA artists, or even shooting videos even in the country. Need I say more?
Focus on Nigerian sounds
Before Nigerian artists started facing the same direction, they explored a variety of sounds. The craze for amapiano-hits is shifting focus from motherland sounds.
Our ears are so used to Amapiano sound that we’ve become numb to good music. Reekado Banks dropped a good song with Adekunle Gold and Maleek Berry and the song ain’t even charting in the country. Having these artistes on a song should make everyone buzzing about it on a norm but…
It’s another new music Friday in Nigeria and not a single log drum or Amapiano whistle to be heard. Is the music industry slowly shifting from Amapiano and returning it back to the South Africa it came from? Well, these top Nigerian songs that dropped today are making a case for that.
Yawa — Fireboy DML
A groovy afropop song far removed from the Jersey sound experiment on previous single, Someone.
Fireboy DML teamed up with music producers, Magicsticks and Telz, to make a statement about not minding haters and busybodies. He reveals a new smoking habit, and you can even hear Olamide smoothly backing him up at the end, but the clearest takeaway from the whole song is that it’s very much for the Nigerian audience.
Angelus and My Darling — Victony
Victony finally served us the singles he’s been teasing since June 11, 2023. On Angelus, Victony went back in time to pick inspiration from sounds reminiscent of Oliver De Coque. My Darling, produced by Ghana’s Juls, Victony continues to admonish to be in his life. No wonder Victony has been dancing in his promotional videos, these songs are groovy af.
Sittin’ On Top Of The World (Remix) — Burna Boy ft. 21 Savage
Burna Boy first released this single on the 2nd of June, but it didn’t pick up as you’d expect. Today, he re-released Sittin’ On Top Of The World with a verse from British-American rapper, 21 Savage. Hip-hop’s influence is clear on this remix; another proof Burna doesn’t miss when he links with foreign rappers.
My Own — Major AJ ft. Blaqbonez
Major AJ tapped his labelmate, Blaqbonez, to collaborate on this song. They’re saying what most people already know: finding love in Lagos is the hardest. My Own is a chilled bop with choral backup and serenading trumpets. It sounds inspired by Burna Boy’s Last Last, but with it, Major AJ shows he’s a versatile artist who can’t be boxed.
Sokoto — Minz ft. Zinoleesky
Apparently, Minz is now in a better position compared to the pre-release of Wo Wo, and he’s less-concerned about what detractors have to say about him and his music. His new single, Sokoto, is a party jam that explores his sexcapes. Coming from the success of Wo Wo single, Minz links with Zinoleesky to bring this sensual song to life. It’s afrobeats with a sprinkle of house music, produced by Babybeats and Mike Bgrz.
Chasing Wind — Tim Lyre
There’s nothing like staying original to your sound as a musician, perfecting it while dropping quality projects. Alternative singer-songwriter and producer, Tim Lyre, has made himself a standout among peers with his unconventional approach and reggae-influenced tone. On his latest single, Chasing Wind, he details the burden of dream-chasing.
Pariwo — Mohbad & Bella Shmurda
Since Adura came out in 2020, these two have returned with Pariwo, an uptempo song, telling whoever cares to listen that they’re unavailable for stressful conversations. Mohbad warns that he’s not in a playful mode, and no one should step on his toes. Pariwo is a testimony to the trajectory of their careers and how far they intend to go.
Eleyele — Taves
Taves is BNXN, fka Buju’s, new signee. His debut, Eleyele, is a laid-back fusion of afropop and r&b. On it, Taves bares his feelings about longing for a faraway lover.
About nine months ago, Asake solidified his fresh and unique sound with his debut album Mr. Money With the Vibes — an album that went on to influence the current soundscape of the industry with log drums and choral backups. Back with a taste for paintings, Asake is set to take us on artistic vibrations with his new album, Work of Art.
Prior to his debut album, Asake first made a colourful splash on the scene with his EP Ololade Asake, which took Nigerians straight to the dance floors. Carefully fusing Afropop with styles that slowly creep into Fuji and Apala, Asake sang about having money, a good time and being streetwise. With MMWTV, Asake became the biggest breakout star Nigeria has ever seen with the biggest album of the year and the most streams for an artist, culminating in a recent BET award nomination. It’s Asake’s world and the rest of us are just paying rent and agency fees.
In the buildup to his latest, Work of Art, Asake released three songs, Yoga, 2:30 and Amapiano, and they were all number one singles on Official Nigeria Top 100. In all this, Asake hasn’t strayed from the fast life narrative. But while we enjoy the omo jaiye jaiye persona, the important question is: will it keep fans to their feet like it did nearly ten months ago?
The Breakdown
Asake opens the album with a mouth full of gratitude to God who translates to Olorun (the opening track title) in Yoruba. On this record, he recalls his life’s journey, the hard times and his meteoric rise. The introspective track is followed by the indulgent Awodi in which he continues the story of his successes and turns Pasuma’s name into wordplay. Early single, 2:30 comes after and it fits in seamlessly, picking up the pace of his Amapiano-inspired direction. Asake asks what the probability of anyone catching up to him is, or if they have the agility to even move.
On Sunshine, Ololade Asake becomes more flexible. The song is a shift from his usual pattern (stripped down beat, minimal horns, whistle and choral backups), but still manages to deliver a light-hearted message of motivation.
Maintaining a similar direction to Sunshine production-wise, Asake shifts gears to Mogbe which finds Olamide’s protégé in top form, with infectious lyrics about having a good time. Basquiat, the sixth track named after the famous American painter, Jean Micheal-Basquiat finds Asake in his artistic bag, comparing himself to a priceless work of art. After the year that was 2022, Asake’s worth on the music scene fully reflects his position on this track. The Olamide-assisted Amapiano enters next to subtly remind us of their exotic lifestyles and the overall sound the album sets to achieve.
The party continues with What’s Up My G and I Believe, songs complete with log drums, drawn out storytelling and braggadocious lyrics meant to assert his dominance. At this point, it’s clear the plan is to keep us dancing— he reminded us again on Introduction that he’s Mr. Money with a sprinkle of no food for a lazy man.
Asake admonishes his lover to “give it to him” while flexing his big vocabulary muscles on Remember. Lonely At the Top follows and switches up the ambience, now in a more solemn but groovy mood; Asake shows some vulnerability and preaches self-love. We’re with him on this.
Mr. Money’s fun isn’t stopping anytime. He flexes on Great Guy about catching flights, wearing the finest satin, and being in his woman’s bosom. The song ends with a popular Michel Legris’ Mo Capitane sample, ushering us into the trance-like closing track, Yoga, where he accepts the burdens of success, warns detractors and vibe killers.
Final thoughts
Asake has never shied away from being heavy on vibes and melodies. He heavily taps in feel-good grooves and since Amapiano is still a darling out here, it works in his favour.
Though the hooks and choruses are infectious, the album sounds like he’s using the same beat for the 100th time sometimes. Asake paces himself on Work of Art and triumphantly soaks in the momentum.
Since amapiano became a thing last year, many Nigerian artists have tried their hands at it, either as originals or as guests on remixes. With 2021, showing an explosion of the genre on the Nigerian music scene, we decided to rank some of our favorite afrobeats-amapiano crossovers from the past year.
10. Too Sweet (O dun) – Niniola
Niniola has already shown us that deep down, she’s South African. Taking over the afro-house music scene, it made sense for her to take a stab at another South African genre. If we ever doubted her, Squander was staring us right in the face. Too Sweet has become the go-to “I came to slay” song on social media and honestly, we can’t stop listening.
9. 44 – Ayanfe
While Ayanfe’s name might not be popular, we have a strong feeling you’ve heard this song before. Off his recent All that Matters EP, this joint also features verses from other upcoming acts like Mystro and Jamopyper.
8. Stella Riddim – Wavy the Creator
Wavy the Creator is one of those artists you can’t put in a box. We doubt there’s a genre she hasn’t tried out (and done well, to be honest). Jumping on the amapiano train with some help from Ckay and Ghana’s Efya, Stella Riddim is a standout track from her new EP, PS: Thank you for waiting.
7. Mosafejo – Dunnie
With production credit on songs for Wande Coal, Yemi Alade, Niniola and Focalistic, singer Dunnie is not new to the music scene. While her work as a producer might grab your attention, it’s her amapiano inspired single, Mosafejo that will have you pulling out all the moves you’ve picked up from Instagram. If her single is this good, then we are ready for her upcoming album.
6. Come My Way – Wande Coal
You know it’s real when folks like Wande Coal decide to hop on a vibe. A match made in musical heaven for us, we got a chance to hear our Black Diamond flex his voice on one of the sickest amapiano beats of the year. Are we upset that Davido’s verse didn’t make the final song? Yes. But that doesn’t mean this version doesn’t slap, because omo, it does.
5. Ozumba Mbadiwe – Reekado Banks
If someone told us that after a string of major misses Reekado Banks would have one of the biggest songs of the year, we would have called the person a detty liar. This song came out in October and now just like the traffic on the road it’s named after, we can’t escape it. Major shout-out to Reekado for doing the needful by paying tribute to victims of the Lekki toll gate massacre of October 2020. We have a feeling that amapiano might be his true calling, who knows?
4. Yaba Buluku – DJ Tarico, Burna Boy and Nelson Tivane
Contrary to what you might think, this song isn’t even South African, it’s from Mozambique. This goes to show the rate at which amapiano has infiltrated not just the Nigerian music scene, but Africa as a whole. Leave it to Burna Boy to add his Jerusalema magic to the song for the rest of the world to catch up. Like most of the other crossover hits on this list, we don’t know what the lyrics mean. But who cares? We’ve already learnt the dance steps and that’s enough.
3. High – Adekunle Gold and Davido
Is it okay for us to admit that Adekunle Gold hasn’t missed all year? Because look at the receipts. Since dropping Afro Pop, Vol. 1 last year, he has been serving us hit after hit. When we heard about his collaboration with Davido, naturally, we knew it was going to bang but did we expect it to bang this hard? No. High is one of the best examples of taking amapiano and making it as Nigerian as possible without removing the sauce that made us fall in love with the genre. Maybe we’re pushing it at this point, but we wouldn’t mind a joint EP from these two.
2. Ke Star Remix – Focalistic, Davido and Virgo
Remixes work sometimes and other times they just end up being a hot pile of garbage. Already a massive hit when the original dropped in 2020, the Ke Star remix is a major example of a remix that works. With everyone constantly shouting OBO’s famous “E goes down when my gs connect”, we doubt anyone remembers the original. Do you?
1. Monalisa – Lojay and Sarz
When Lojay and Sarz dropped their joint EP LV N ATTN, our focus was immediately drawn to the title track featuring Wizkid and then, it eventually shifted to another hit on the album, Tonongo. While we were focusing on these two, Monalisa came out of nowhere and became one of the biggest songs of the year. This song proves yet again that there’s nothing Sarz can’t do. Is Lojay saying “Monalisa” or “Monalisan”? Well, hold on, let’s listen again, maybe we’ll figure it out this time.
Interview With… is a Zikoko weekly series that explores the weird and interesting lives of inanimate objects and non-human entities.
After interviewing Detty December about how it plans to remain outside despite all that is going on with COVID-19, Amapaino ran into our office to hide because a Detty December means an overworked Amapiano.
From being the hot cake of musical beats to becoming a regular thing to Nigerians, Amapiano’s journey is a classic see-finish story.
[Amapiano runs in]
Zikoko: Ahan, what’s going on? Who is pursuing you?
Amapiano: [Panting hard] Please, let me hide here.
Zikoko: Why? What did you do?
Amapiano: I’ll explain later, just let me hide here.
Zikoko: Omo, that will be hard oh. We cannot just hide you here without knowing why you are hiding.
Amapiano: Look, I won’t be a burden. I’ll just stay where you keep me and remain quiet until I can escape back to my country.
Zikoko: Where is your country?
Amapiano: South Africa.
Zikoko: So why do you want to go back? Have you not tasted Nigerian Jollof?
Amapiano: I have but—
Zikoko: Our national treasure! You see, the country might be going to shit, but once you eat Nigerian Jollof, everything automatically fixes itself.
Amapiano: No, that’s not—
Zikoko: In fact, Nigerian Jollof is the plane that will carry us to heaven on the last day.
Amapiano: Well, that doesn’t matter to—
Zikoko: You know what, let me ask them to serve you Jollof rice again, maybe you will be convinced to stay with us.
Amapiano: No, I beg of you, I don’t want any more Jollof rice. I don’t want anything that has to do with Nigeria, especially now that Christmas is here.
Zikoko: Amapiano, you are proving difficult and I don’t like it.
Amapiano: Just let me hide here for a while. Before the end of this week, my people will come for me and fly me back to South Africa. It is the only thing I desire from you.
Zikoko: Is Nigeria not enough for you?
Amapiano: [Screams] Nigerians want to finish me! Can’t you read between the lines?!
Zikoko: Oh.
Amapiano: [Bursts into tears] I never knew it would be like this. If I knew, I would have refused to come when I was being invited. Had I known, had I known, I would have just stayed back in South African clubs and parties.
Zikoko: How did you end up in Nigeria in the first place?
Amapiano: What does not end up in Nigeria eventually? Especially music. You people have a good number of hot music stars. When one of them sampled me in their music, I knew I had arrived.
Zikoko: Tell me more…
Amapiano: I felt on top of the world. I was this new sound with the gift of becoming a club banger and a street anthem. That’s a great level of versatility, and you know how Nigerians like versatile sounds.
Not every artiste knew how to use me, but they all wanted me in their songs, even if it was just for the sake of appearance. The collaborations were plenty, even artistes that have no business collaborating were doing it because of Amapiano. I was the ‘it girl’. I felt so classy. But this is Nigeria. You can’t be special for too long. They will eventually overwork you and see-finish will enter it.
Zikoko: So see-finish has entered it for you now?
Amapiano: Yes oh. In fact, my own is more than see-finish. Nigerians claim they want a bad bitch but the bad bitch arrives and you all cannot handle it. Why are you people clamouring for Amapiano when you know you will not dance when it is played live?
Zikoko: Eeyah.
Amapiano: Now, I have gone from being the hotcake of sounds to a regular sound. Let me be going to my country, please. The disgrace I have encountered here is enough.
Zikoko: How would you say this see-finish happened?
Amapiano: I blame myself, honestly. I don’t know who gave Nigerian artistes the idea that they need to include me in their songs, but I blame myself for agreeing. My eyes are clear now.
Zikoko: Me I think you have become popular sha.
Amapiano: Did I beg you people for popularity? Was I not popular before you people came to put me in your songs? If I was not popular, would you even have known me? Please don’t get me angry, it’s too early in the morning for this.
Zikoko: Sorry oh. But now that you are planning to escape, what will happen to Christmas parties in Nigeria?
Amapiano: Christmas is to celebrate the birthday of Jesus. I’m not sure Mary’s son would have wanted you to play Amapiano on his birthday anyway.
Zikoko: If you go, do you have any brothers or sisters that can replace you?
Amapiano: As how?
Zikoko: Should we be expecting Amaguitar and Amadrum anytime soon?
[Amapiano stares very hard at Zikoko, sighs deeply, hisses, and then walks out]
Zikoko: Amapiano wait now! Don’t you want to hide here again?
Check back every Friday by 9AM for new Interview With episodes. To read previous stories, click here.
