Spotify celebrates 10 years of Amapiano

Music streaming giant, Spotify is celebrating 10 years of the South African music genre and dance, Amapiano. Amapiano is a Zulu word loosely translated to “the pianos”, is a subgenre of kwaito and house music that emerged in South Africa in the mid-2010s. It is a hybrid of deep house, jazz, and lounge music characterized by synths and wide, percussive basslines

The streamer in a statement said that Amapiano’s influence on the music culture in South Africa, and beyond has seen the world gripped in a frenzy from dance challenges to inspired collaborations and fusions. The international phenomenon is reflected in Nigeria, where Amapiano listenership increased by 181% between 2023 and 2024. In 2020, the genre hit its first 100 million streams, followed by an impressive 300 million streams in 2021, further solidifying its rising popularity.

Spotify further explains the influence over the past 10 years that led to the launch of ‘A Decade of Amapiano’ – a website dedicated to teaching all about the genre and providing the platform for showcasing podcasts and songs.

Nigerian songs like Unavailable by Davido, Amapiano by Asake, and Level by Niniola are examples of songs in the amapiano genre that have become hits in the past year. According to Phiona OkuDecade mu, Spotify’s Head of Music in Sub-Saharan Africa, “One of the most affirming parts of watching Amapiano explode over the past decade is seeing how people use it for self-expression,’’ 

The Nation/S.S