Reason on amapiano becoming vulgar: 'Some feel the same about hip-hop'

Rapper Reason believes that amapiano is in the same WhatsApp group as hip hop because sex, drugs, and alcohol were becoming the way of the genre.

It all started when sports personality Mpho Letsholonyane posed a question to her followers asking why amapiano was evolving into a vulgar genre of music.

Her question then sparked a back and forth debate between Reason and a tweep, by the handle @AmaPiano, who stated that Mpho saying the genre was becoming crass was an “exaggeration”.

The tweep said, “There may be a few amapiano songs that would fail the moral scrutiny of some people, but to say that the genre is becoming crass is an exaggeration. There are thousands of amapiano songs, most of them with no lyrical accompaniment, and many others with 'clean' lyrics.”

Reason then replied and stated that he agreed with the tweep, however, as an outsider looking in, it seems what “blows up commercially” is the crass side of things.

“Like hip hop, while there are good clean artists out there, sex, drugs, and alcohol are becoming the way of the genre. Her question was 'why'?" 

Feeling unheard and misunderstood, the tweep hit back at Reason and said Mpho's question wasn't just a curious “why”, but was from someone who seeks knowledge or understanding.

“A view is being postured, qualified by an assertion that lyrical content is aiding a progression of the music genre into what's morally abased, same as what you are saying about sex, drugs, and booze.”

The rapper then stated that he heard the tweep and asked him to offer some light to the misconception?

“Surely it stems from somewhere. Beyond assuming, the least you can acknowledge is the open conversation. Is this not the right time to shed light if it’s an incorrect observation?”

The tweep then replied and explained that he acknowledged that there was a perception of obscenity in the genre. “It's mostly because of unfamiliarity with the music, a currency given to unsubstantiated views by media platforms, and as I've already said, the misapplication of our own mores to artistic expressions.”

Reason closed the debate and explained that that was not entirely true. That outside of media (radio and TV), he mostly heard amapiano at parties, where people are "all about sex, drugs and alcohol".

“I only hear the 'clean' joint when I research. Don’t you think that maybe it’s cause the explicit sh*t is easier to make and sell?”