The South African singer Kamo Mphela is keen for Amapiano to become popular worldwide and draws her inspiration from the west-African genre of Afrobeats.
Millions of people are becoming fans of the Amapiano sound, which has risen in popularity over the past few years, but the Hannah Montana actress thinks it still needs more support to become a really worldwide phenomenon.
On Tuesday, March 21, 2023, Mphela stated that the marketing of the sound needs to become more active. He was speaking to a group of content producers at the time.
She said, “Amapiano just needs to be a little more – I think we’re a little too soft. Amapiano in South Africa is about culture, and being humble to everyone, but if we really want to take it to the world, we have to be more. Wizkid and Burna Boy aren’t soft about pushing Afrobeats, they’re definitely aggressive.
“If we can be more aggressive with our sound, I think we can reach greater heights.”
Mphela made her comments to content creators from Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa for Spotify’s Amapiano Tour — an exploration of the roots of the sound and how collaborations can help its advancement.
The 23-year-old star said collaborations usually represent a bigger platform for artists to show what they’re about to a new market and rejected the notion that Amapiano needs to be jealously guarded by South Africans.
“It needs to be a universal sound, more than anything. It should be for the whole world just like Hip Hop is a universal genre and not just for Americans,” she said.
Mphela further disclosed she’s working on a new song with Nigerian superstar, Ayra Starr, a demonstration of her commitment to spreading the gospel of Amapiano.
