Amapiano
The South African sound of piano melodies, shakers and the log drum — born in the townships of Gauteng, now filling dance floors from Johannesburg to London, Lagos and New York. This is what amapiano is, where it came from, who shaped it, and where you can hear it, vote on it and dance to it.
What is amapiano?
Amapiano is a style of house music that emerged in South Africa in the early-to-mid 2010s. It takes the slow, rolling groove of deep house and kwaito, adds the harmonic warmth of jazz and gospel keys, and sits it on top of a bass sound nobody else had: the log drum. Most tracks run around 110–115 BPM — slower than most house — which is why the dance is a glide rather than a jump.
The name is isiZulu. Ama- is a plural prefix; piano is the instrument. "The pianos" — because the piano-led melodies are the heart of it.
What makes a track amapiano
Styles within amapiano
- Private school amapiano — the softer, jazz-leaning side: lush keys, mellow chords, restrained log drums, a slower and more soulful feel.
- Sgija — harder and faster, dance-floor first: heavier drums, driving log drums, chanted vocals and whistles.
- Bacardi — the Pretoria-rooted, percussion-heavy strain that fed into the sgija sound.
- Crossovers — amapiano fused with Afrobeats, gqom, UK dance music and pop, which is how the sound travelled far beyond South Africa.
The DJs and producers who shaped it
Amapiano is a producer's genre — the people behind the decks are the people behind the tracks. Among the names most often credited with defining and spreading the sound: Kabza De Small and DJ Maphorisa (together as the Scorpion Kings), Kelvin Momo (the private school benchmark), MFR Souls, Vigro Deep, Major League DJz, Focalistic, Tyler ICU, Uncle Waffles, DBN Gogo, Musa Keys and Young Stunna — and a new wave arriving every season.
On Amapianos you decide who is on top: vote for amapiano DJs by category — South African, African, UK and international — and see the live rankings.
How amapiano went global
It moved the way the music moves: through DJs, dance clips and word of mouth. Township parties and taxi ranks first, then Johannesburg and Pretoria clubs, then the rest of the continent — Nigeria and Ghana in particular — then the diaspora cities: London, Lisbon, Paris, Toronto, New York. Dance challenges carried the log drum onto every phone, and Afrobeats and pop producers started borrowing it. Today "amapiano" is a genre tag on every streaming service and a night in almost every big city.
Where to hear it, dance it and make it
Amapiano — quick answers
What is amapiano in one line?
South African house music built on piano melodies, shakers and the log drum, at around 110–115 BPM.
Is amapiano the same as Afrobeats?
No. Afrobeats is a West African pop umbrella; amapiano is a South African house style. They borrow from each other constantly, which is why so many hits now sit between the two.
Where did amapiano start?
In the townships of Gauteng, South Africa — the areas around Johannesburg and Pretoria — in the early-to-mid 2010s.
What is the difference between private school and sgija?
Private school is the soft, jazzy, soulful end; sgija is the hard, fast, chant-driven end. Most DJs move between them across a set.
How do I vote for an amapiano DJ?
Open DJ voting, pick a category, and vote. Rankings update live.
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