Top 10 Amapiano artists who’ve made the biggest commercial impact
By: Lesetja Thema
Tags: Music, Amapiano, Amapiano Songs, Impact, Commercial

We’re going to take a look at a few Amapiano artists who have made the biggest impact on a commercial level. The aim is not discredit other artists who have had a hand in helping the genre grow but to put a focus on those who’ve got the masses dancing and paying attention.

1. Kabza de Small & DJ Maphorisa a.k.a Scorpion Kings

Kabza de Small and DJ Maphorisa a.k.a The Scorpion Kings are probably the hardest working duo in the South Africa — since 2019 they have released 6 albums together, amongst them ‘Piano Hub’ and ‘Scorpion Kings.’

On a commercial aspect they have been at the forefront of the genre because of all the quality music and collaborations they have created, in such a short space of time. Not only have they exposed us to new artists along the way but they’ve influenced a whole entire generation.

In 2019 and 2020 Kabza De Small was the most streamed South African artist on Spotify. He also took the top 3 spots in for the most streamed local albums, with ‘I am The King Of Amapiano: Sweet and Dust’ coming in first, ‘Scorpion Kings Live’ in second and ‘ The Return of the Scorpion Kings’ in third. A clear indication that the masses are paying attention.

2. Focalistic

If there’s one person whose had a fantastic 2020 despite the pandemic, it was 24 year old Amapiano sensation, Focalistic. Particularly known for his popular adlib “A se trap, tse ke pina tsa ko kasi,” meaning this isn’t trap, its hood music. Focalistic has proven to be a very unique artist. As the genre of Amapiano is mostly run by DJ’s and producers, Focalistic is up there when it comes to the performance and artistry side of it.

Having released 3 albums in 2020, ‘Blecke’, ‘Sghubu Ses Excellent’ and ‘Quarantined Tarantino’ it was almost impossible not to hear a Focalistic track on the radio, on TV or being blasted out of someone’s car. Two songs from his Blecke album namely ‘Ke Star’ and ‘Blecke’ tore up the charts in South Africa. In fact the ‘Ke Star remix’ featuring Nigerian superstar Davido became the first South African track to reach the global Billboard charts in the United States.

3. Mr JazziQ

Formerly one half of JazziDisciples, Mr JazziQ has been at this Amapiano gig for a long time and making great music too. Unfortunately, JazziDisciples disbanded and Mr JazziQ started making his own music and hasn’t looked back since. Besides Kabza De Small and DJ Maphorisa he’s probably been one of the busiest producers in the last year or so.

As the pandemic took its course in 2020, he’s been releasing a lot of music and had a lot of features along with it. The most notable features being Focalistic, Busta 929 and Reece Madlisa & Zuma.

4. Reece Madlisa & Zuma

This duo is the biggest surprise package of 2020. After releasing their E.P ‘Ama Roto’, the song ‘Zlele’ went viral via Tik Tok as it was used to promote a restaurant called Junk Park. This then became the catalyst of a new wave for Amapiano artists.

Since then Reece Madlisa and Zuma have not missed a beat, from collaborating with the likes of Mr JazziQ, Busta929 and Riky Rick they’ve given us hit after hit.

6. Semi Tee, Kamu Dee & Miano

Despite not having a long run together in the industry, these 3 have most likely had one the biggest impacts within Amapiano. Their hit song Labantwana Ama Uber was easily the biggest song of 2019 and parties in December were bouncing because of it. However the song did come with controversy as some people assumed the song was about drugs and resulted in limited airtime on the radio.

The were the very first of their kind because Amapiano was still just scratching the surface on a commercial level. They also featured on ‘Lorch’ another banger with Kabza De Small and DJ Maphorisa. Basically these guys had one objective in mind and that was to get the whole country dancing. Although Miano is no longer with the group they definitely had a good run while it lasted.

7. Sha Sha

In my eyes Sha Sha is the Queen of Amapiano. She is of Zimbabwean descent and got the attention of DJ Maphorisa who ended up signing her. Her soft demeanor and soulful voice make you instantly fall in love with her. But make no mistake, this woman is a powerhouse when it comes to the impact her vocals have had on the genre.

She garnered mainstream success after features on MFR souls’ ‘Love you tonight’, Samthing Soweto’s ‘Akulaleki and her first Amapiano single “Tender Love with DJ Maphorisa & Kabza De Small, all of which were smash hits. Furthermore she won a BET award for Best International Act in 2020.

8. Samthing Soweto

Originally part of acapella group The Soil, Sam left the group and went on to have a brilliant solo career. His first taste of mainstream success came when his award winning song with Sun-El Musician ‘Akanamali’ became the biggest song in the country in 2017.

Then in 2019 he released his second album Isphithiphithi, a predominantly Amapiano album but a brilliant one nonetheless. The album did very well and the lead single ‘Akulaleki’ featuring Sha Sha peaked at number 1 on the South African Apple Music Charts. Sam is definitely up there when it comes to giving Amapiano soul and his song writing is exceptional.

9. MFR Souls

Having been given the credit of naming the genre of Amapiano, MFR Souls are also one of the genre’s early contributors. Originally from the East Rand, they released their 2nd album in 2020 titled ‘Musical Kings’, which is an ode to the talent coming from their hometown as it features artists from there.

They are also known for putting focus on creating the soulful kind of Amapiano music. However that hasn’t stopped them from making club bangers too such as ‘Amanikiniki featuring Kamo Mphela, Bontle Smith and Major League DJz.

9. Kamo Mphela

When it comes to dancing to Amapiano, there’s no way Kamo Mphela’s name doesn’t come up in the conversation. Her introduction to the game came when she was asked to do the female vocals on hit song ‘Sukendleleni by Jobe London. Since then this 21 year old dance Queen has featured on songs like ‘Sandton’ by Kabza De Small and ‘Amanikiniki’ by MFR Souls.

She released her first album ‘Nkulunkulu’ in April 2021 accompanied by the lead single also with the same title. So far the album has received a warm response from the public.

10. Njelic

The first time I heard of Njelic was because of the song ‘Shesha’ by De Mthuda, which was a smash hit when it came out. Its about a guy pleading to his woman to hurry up and get ready so they can go out. And then another song that made me really like Njelic was ‘Nana Thula’ off of Kabza De Small’s ‘Piano Hub’ album.

The most noticeable thing about Njelic is that he has this hazy yet soulful voice which makes it difficult not to recognize. He also has the ability to make you feel the agony in his lyrics while at the same time making you dance to the music.