PLAYLIST REALITY CHECK - We Love Amapiano, But Don’t Forget Our Other Authentic Sounds - 6 MIN READ

Let’s be honest, if you look at your playlist and the consumption pattern of soul music, hip-hop, and alternative R&B, it’s probably majority American or European music… just guessing here. It's not a bad thing. I love global music; it influences us all.  But I’m always open to connecting with local music, those songs made from a real African energy and essence. When they land, no, they actually don’t just land… they actually settle in your body, mind, and spirit. They live in you in a different way. 

It takes a lot of energy, intention, and rewriting to create a song that truly resonates with the Black community in today’s world (this is just me being silly and imagining this; I have no idea what it takes to write songs). That alone shows how hard we have to fight to consistently reconnect with our roots in a capitalist society. But somehow, these artists make me feel like I’m more in touch with an authentic part of myself. 

Zoe Modiga

image: Instagram 

Her music feels like an instrument that gently reminds us of what it took to get here as Africans, as Black people. It shows us that there’s beauty in the journey of expressing ourselves as fully African and as fully Black as possible. She thrives in that energy, in the bravery of simply being and existing as a Black African person. Her music also reminds me that we still need to access that bravery to express ourselves and stand fully in our power. It’s like we are still quietly rebelling to put ourselves at the forefront of our own stories.

Song recommendation: ISEGAZINI

Lia Butler

image: Instagram 

The fight is in the intentionality (she deliberately fights to bring forth an energy that represents her). You can hear in her music how naturally she draws from that deep place within her and makes it dance through her voice. It’s like she lets the energy rain from her body into the song, and what a blessing it is to experience that. It’s like when someone finally gets so happy that they just cry it out.

Song recommendation: Immimangaliso, 

Maglera Doe Boy

image: Instagram 

His music feels like he’s telling stories of a township I know, understand, and have seen. From my experience listening to local hip-hop that explores similar spaces, I’ve often heard it carrying more American energy. But with Maglera, it’s different. He explores that same space in a way that feels grounded in home. The American and European narratives that often heavily influence local hip-hop are present (because some are real for us too, which is why we connect with them). You can hear them in the worlds he builds and reflects in his work, but they don’t overpower the authentic modern South African experience he’s telling (he does a good job of telling post-colonial stories of Black South Africans). There’s a balance. You still feel the dust, the struggle, the rhythm, and the beauty of who we are as South Africans. And that’s not an easy space to access, but I stan how he does it.

Song recommendation: Memoirs

Mpho Sebina

image: Instagram 

She brings a soft purpose to preserving and showcasing the hidden beauty of our culture, and she shows how it can still exist in today’s music space. She speaks from her roots but reaches outward (she takes the duty of preserving our way of life and culture very seriously). As a Tswana person myself, her music genuinely reminds me of my childhood in a surreal way because her music did not exist yet then, my language, my people, our attitudes, and how much I love who I am. I don’t even think I can fully explain it. When she explores folktales in her music, it genuinely reminds me of my grandmother telling us kid stories like Dingwe. Her music feels sunny and clear skyed. It’s warm and familiar (Intrusive thought: LOL music is so wild). I am speaking mainly about songs where she used SeTswana. 

Song recommendation: Dikeledi, Tshela Tshweu

These artists have a way of authentically laying out their narratives as Black people in South Africa. Across their music, you can hear the fight, the effort to truthfully express the South African story in a way that is authentic to them, as well as their strong belief in the importance of preserving culture. It’s making music for a basic emotional need that we have as Black South Africans… a level of representation in the modern age of music that we need to access often.

They’re all fighting a battle to make our art exist in this day and age that FULLY represents us and our experiences, when fewer and fewer people are making it. It takes bravery, pride, and awareness to intentionally create music like this, music that doesn’t need support out of obligation, but out of genuine feeling. 

Amapiano is absolutely doing a beautiful job of getting us international reach and engagement, but I just can’t wait to see how music like this reaches audiences and gets a chance to also be part of big conversations in the music space.

Please plug me into more local artists who you think are on a similar wavelength.

Thank you for taking the time to read 🐘.