"Amapiano" | ||||
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Single by Asake and Olamide | ||||
from the album Work of Art | ||||
Language |
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Released | 24 May 2023 | |||
Genre | Afrofusion | |||
Length | 3:29 | |||
Label | YBNL | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Magicsticks | |||
Asake singles chronology | ||||
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"Amapiano" is a song by Nigerian musician Asake and Nigerian rapper Olamide. The song is a single from Asake's second studio album, Work of Art , and was produced by Nigerian producer Magicsticks. The music video, shot by Jyde Ajala, was released on 24 May 2023. [1] The song was a surprise release and gained over 100,000 streams within less than 24 hours of its release and debuted at number one of the Spotify Top Songs Nigeria Daily Chart. [2] The song was nominated for Best African Music Performance at the 66th Grammy awards. [3] It was one of the most streamed songs of 2023 on Audiomack, garnering 87.7 million streams on the platform. [4] Former US president Barack Obama listed the song among his favorite music of 2023. [5]
The song paid homage to amapiano, by incorporating reinterpreted log drum elements commonly used in or associated with the South African genre and other African musical styles, in that year. [6] [7] [8]
The song is described as "easy listen that evokes feelings of happiness and overall summer vibes". [9] Collins Badewa of Style Rave describes the song as "an infectious blend of energetic beats, vibrant melodies, and catchy hooks". [10] Additionally, it is noted for incorporating elements from hip hop, amapiano, Afrobeats, deep house, and a neo-fuji aesthetic, resulting in a distinctive rhythmic energy. [11] [12] Douglas Markowitz of Grammy Awards wrote that while the song pays homage to the amapiano genre, it rearranges some elements such as the iconic log drum. [8] The fusion song predominantly features numerous genre elements, in a crossover style, resulting in a track that is primarily Afro-fusion. The lyrics are primarily in Yoruba language and pidgin and bits of English. [6] [7] [13]
Dennis Ade Peter of OkayAfrica wrote,
All the bells and whistles of an Asake song are present, a maximalist canvas that includes warm piano keys, gorgeously droning violin, interpolated organ notes, log drums that mimic the staggering groove of Omele drums, and a bevy of stacked vocals in call-and-response mode. If anyone needs the clearest vision of what 'piano-inflected neo-Fuji' is, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better one than "Amapiano". [14]
The Africa Report listed "Amapiano" as one of the top music hits of 2023. [15]
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