Spotify’s data highlights four ways streaming is helping to elevate women’s voices in the genre.
1. Women occupy more and more space in amapiana music
Some of the most streamed female Amapiano artists in the last 90 days include bohle, Babalwa M, kamo mphela, sha sha, msaki and lady du.
Spotify has also been championing Amapiano artists through programs like EQUAL, Fresh Finds and RADAR and its very popular ‘Furrows of Amapiano‘ play list
2. Collaborations are fueling musical discovery, and not just for Amapiano artists
Collaborations between Amapiano artists and women artists whose music is not usually part of the genre are further driving musical discovery. Artists like me fakuwho calls his musical genre “Modern Afro Soul”, msaki who is best known for her folk sound, and even for the music of Nigeria wild tiwaall appear on the most listened to Amapiano tracks with a female artist, due to the collaborations they have made with artists such as dj maphorisa and kabza as a child.
3. Amapian women go global
Spotify data shows that around 43% of all Amapiano’s music is listened to outside of South Africa, demonstrating his huge international appeal.
Collaborations are not only driving genre bending, but they are also boosting exports of music by female artists. ‘Love and Loyalty (Believe)’ which appears on the Wakanda Forever soundtrack is the second most exported track, while ‘Abalele’ and Mina Nawe, Mashudu’s collaboration with Soa Mattrix ranks in the top 10. Uncle Waffles’ ‘Tanzania’ presenting tonio duardo, Chinese just and Boi Bizza it is also one of the most exported tracks.
4. Gen Z is Amapiano’s primary audience, but a female artist bucks this trend.
It’s no surprise that Amapiano’s female artists speak directly to Generation Z. Spotify data shows that Amapiano’s top female artists like it bohle, Babalwa METER and msaki they are most popular with 18-24 audiences and the number of streams decreases in older audience groups. One artist who appears to have bucked this trend is Makhadzi, whose streams in the 35-44 age group are just 2 percent lower than in the 18-24 audience.
When it comes to where people listen, Makhadzi is the most streamed female artist in Pretoria and Johannesburg, where Amapiano has her roots. She is followed by Babalwa M and Msaki in second and third place. In Cape Town, Msaki has been the most streamed female Amapiano artist for the past 90 days and Boohle is the most streamed female Amapiano artist in Lagos and Nairobi.
