Amapiano takes over TikTok with new milestone

SA's popular dance genre, Amapiano, has reached a new milestone on the video-sharing app, TikTok.

The genre has hit more than 73 million views on the app — thanks to viral challenges users have been creating during the lockdown.

The most popular artists include the genre's current front-runners Kabza De Small, DJ Maphorisa, DJ Sumbody and Moonchild Sanelly.

According to the app's content operations manager for Africa, Boniswa Sidwaba, every week there is a new Amapiano song trending on the platform because of challenges.

Some of the popular songs on the app include Lorch, Emcimbini, Love You Tonight, Nana Thula and Indaba Kabani, which are on Kabza De Small and DJ Maphorisa's 2019 joint album, The Return Of The Scorpion Kings.

“TikTok continues to help grow the local music industry by supporting African music and genres such as Amapiano. To promote Amapiano specifically, TikTok has a dedicated in-app Amapiano playlist within the sounds page that features new and popular Amapiano music,” said Sidwaba

“Most recently, we also launched the TikTok Amapiano page on the discover tab which features popular Amapiano music, artists and an interactive in-app game created to challenge TikTok creators to guess the Amapiano song playing.”

Sidwaba said TikTok was working directly with Amapiano artists and local record labels to help promote music more on the platform.

“We do this through TikTok challenges, looking out for songs that have the potential to trend and provide resources to artists to promote their music. These resources include adding their songs to TikTok’s playlists, featuring the artists in TikTok banners on the discovery and sound page, and promoting TikTok challenges for their songs,” she said.

Another upcoming artist trending on the app is Durbanite, DJ Jashmir, who recently debuted his Amapiano remix of the iPhone ringtone.