The second coming of kwaito. That is how amapiano has been dubbed by the streets. The thick basslines, the slow tempo that yearns for pantsula moves, the kwaito style of rapping and deep connection to the kasi lifestyle, are some of the traits the two genres share.
“When you see the younger generation sampling what we did, the music lives on,” said kwaito pioneer Oskido, explaining the connection in Spotify’s mini-documentary, Freedom Sounds: From Kwaito to AmaPiano.
Society — and the music industry — has come a long way since the days Boom Shaka woke us up to the fact that it was about time to take a listen to their ground-breaking sounds. In kwaito and house, women artists were reduced to dancers and guest features, often going uncredited for the songs they contributed to.
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