"Amapiano" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Asake and Olamide | ||||
from the album Work of Art | ||||
Language |
| |||
Released | 24 May 2023 | |||
Genre | Afrofusion | |||
Length | 3:29 | |||
Label | YBNL Nation | |||
Songwriter(s) |
| |||
Producer(s) | Magicsticks | |||
Asake singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Olamide singles chronology | ||||
|
"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]
Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, known professionally as Wizkid, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. Born in the Ojuelegba suburb of Surulere, Lagos, Wizkid is a voice in the emerging Afrobeats movement. His music is a blend of Afrobeats, afropop, R&B, afrobeat, reggae, dancehall, and pop. He began recording music at the age of 11 and released a collaborative album with the Glorious Five, a group he and a couple of his church friends formed. In 2009, Wizkid signed a record deal with Banky W's Empire Mates Entertainment (E.M.E). He rose to the limelight after releasing "Holla at Your Boy", the lead single from his debut studio album, Superstar (2011), which also spawned the singles "Tease Me/Bad Guys" and "Don't Dull".
Olamide Gbenga Adedeji is a Nigerian rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He is regarded as one of the most influential artists in Nigeria and has been pivotal to the creative and commercial success of several Afrobeats music stars, and is consistently praised for his role in elevating street pop to mainstream recognition as a distinct music genre. He records in Yoruba and English. In 2011, he released his debut studio album Rapsodi while signed to Coded Tunes. YBNL, his follow-up album, was released under his label imprint "Yahoo Boy No Laptop", also known as YBNL Nation. The album was supported by the singles "First of All", "Voice of the Street", "Stupid Love", and "Ilefo Illuminati". On 7 November 2013, he released his third studio album Baddest Guy Ever Liveth. The album's singles include "Durosoke" and "Yemi My Lover". On 17 July 2013, Olamide became the first Nigerian to sign an endorsement deal with Cîroc.
David Adedeji AdelekeOON, known professionally as Davido, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most important Afrobeats artists of the 21st century and helped popularize the genre globally.
Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu , who is known professionally as Burna Boy, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer. He rose to stardom in 2012 after releasing "Like to Party", the lead single from his debut studio album L.I.F.E (2013). In 2017, Burna Boy signed with Atlantic Records in the United States to release his third studio album, Outside (2018).
Oluwatobiloba Daniel Anidugbe, who is better known as Kizz Daniel, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. He rose to fame in 2014 with his debut single, "Woju". He signed a record deal with G-Worldwide Entertainment in 2013, but left the label following a publicized contract dispute and court case. He founded the Flyboy I.N.C record label in November 2017.
Oluseye Desmond Sodamola, professionally known as Spinall, is a Nigerian disc jockey, record producer, and songwriter. He has released six studio albums and collaborated with artists that have included Wizkid, Tiwa Savage, Asake, Joeboy among others. He has won numerous awards for his work, including All Africa Music Awards and The Beatz Awards. He is also the first Nigerian disc jockey to play at festivals such as Coachella, SXSW, and Glastonbury.
Phillip Kayode Moses, better known as Pheelz, is a Nigerian record producer, singer, songwriter, and graphic designer. Pheelz is credited to have produced all but one song on Olamide's Baddest Guy Ever Liveth album. In 2022, he had a hit with his song "Finesse", a collaboration with Bnxn.
Gqom, gqom tech, sgubhu, 3-Step or G.Q.O.M) is an African electronic dance music genre and subgenre of house music, that emerged in the early 2010s from Durban, South Africa, pioneered and innovated by music producers Naked Boyz, Rudeboyz, Sbucardo, Griffit Vigo, Nasty Boyz, DJ Lag, Menzi Shabane, Distruction Boyz and Citizen Boy.
Divine Ikubor, known mononymously as Rema, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and rapper. He gained initial recognition with his 2019 song "Dumebi". That same year, he signed with D'Prince's record label, Jonzing World. He achieved international recognition with his 2022 single "Calm Down", which spawned a remix with American singer Selena Gomez that peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also led Billboard Afrobeats Songs chart for a record-setting 58 weeks.
The discography of Davido, a Nigerian Afrobeats singer, consists of four studio albums, one EP, and thirty three singles. Davido released his first album titled Omo Baba Olowo In 2011 at the age of 19, which contains 5 singles and hit song Dami Duro. The album won Album of the Year at The Headies 2013, he released the five-track EP Son of Mercy, his first and only EP till date which was supported by the singles "Gbagbe Oshi", "How Long", "Coolest Kid in Africa"; and includes guest appearances by Simi, Tinashe and Nasty C. His second studio album A Good Time was released in 2019; supported by hit singles "If", "Fall", "Assurance", "Blow My Mind" and "Risky". "Fall" was a viral hit, becoming one of the top-100-most-Shazam-searched singles in America in January 2019, and was a top-10 record on Shazam in New York. It also became the longest charting Nigerian pop song in Billboard history as of that time, and garnered 200 million views on YouTube. The album was a success, it surpassed 1 billion streams across various digital platforms in july 2020. He then followed it up with the release of his third studio album A Better Time, which was released in November 2020. It includes guest appearances from Lil Baby, Nicki Minaj, Nas, Chris Brown, and Young Thug, among others. Timeless was then released as his fourth studio album, the 17-track album includes collaborations with Skepta, Angelique Kidjo, Asake, Focalistic, The Cavemen and others. The album explores musical styles such as dancehall, ragga, konto, highlife and Afropop, it was critically acclaimed by critics both domestically and internationally. The album was nominated for Best Global Music Album at the Grammy Awards.
Afrobeats, not to be confused with Afrobeat or Afroswing, is an umbrella term to describe popular music from West Africa and the diaspora that initially developed in Nigeria, Ghana, and the UK in the 2000s and 2010s. Afrobeats is less of a style per se, and more of a descriptor for the fusion of sounds flowing majorly out of Nigeria. Genres such as hiplife, jùjú music, highlife, azonto music, and naija beats, among others, were amalgamated under the "Afrobeats" umbrella.
Oyinkansola Sarah Aderibigbe, known professionally as Ayra Starr, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. Starr achieved mainstream international recognition in 2022, with the release of her song "Rush". The song charted in several territories, including Switzerland, Ireland and the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number 24. It earned Starr a nomination at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards for Best African Music Performance.
Peace Emmanuel Aderogba Oredope, professionally known as P.Priime , is a Nigerian record producer, DJ, music director, mixing engineer and songwriter.
"Palazzo" is a song by a Nigerian disc jockey Spinall, featuring Asake. It was released on 13 May 2022 through TheCAP Music. Spinall and Asake wrote the song, and Spinall produced it with Magicsticks, and sound engineer Eskeez. "Palazzo" earned Spinall his third UK Afrobeats Singles Chart entry at number 6, and earned Asake third entry on the chart. It also earned Spinall his first entry on the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs at number 6, and earned Asake, his third entry on the chart. The song was ranked at number 1 on TheCable's list of 10 TCL radio pick of the week, and debuted on number 2 on the TurnTable Top 50 chart.
A True Champion is the debut studio album by Nigerian producer and songwriter Rexxie. It was released on 28 June 2021 by Hitxlab and distributed by Dvpper Music. The 17-track album features guest appearances from Davido, Naira Marley, Teni, Zlatan, Peruzzi, MohBad, Bad Boy Timz, Zinoleesky, Bella Shmurda, BNXN fka Buju, Oxlade, Lyta, T-Classic, Blanche Bailly, Sarkodie, Ms Banks, Moelogo, Kida Kudz, and Midas The Jagaban. The album combines elements from Amapiano, Afropop with Neo-soul percussive rhythms.
Ahmed Ololade, known professionally as Asake, is a Nigerian singer, rapper and songwriter. He is signed to YBNL Nation and Empire Distribution. His stage name "Asake" is his mother's name.
Timeless is the fourth studio album by Nigerian singer Davido. It was released on March 31, 2023, through Davido Music Worldwide, Columbia Records, and Sony Music Entertainment. Primarily an amapiano record, the album explores other musical styles such as afrobeats, dancehall, ragga, konto, highlife, and afropop. Timeless comprises 17 tracks and features collaborations with Skepta, Angelique Kidjo, Asake, Focalistic, and The Cavemen, among others. Its production was handled by Magicsticks, Ragee, Darmie, Blaisebeatz, 1da Banton, Caltonic SA, and Young Alpha, among others. The album was supported by the singles "Champion Sound" and "Unavailable". Timeless received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised its production and considered it to be one of Davido's most accomplished albums yet. In July 2023, Davido embarked on the Timeless North American Tour to support the album.
"Lonely at the Top" is a song by Nigerian artist Asake from his second studio album Work of Art (2023). The song was released on 16 June 2023, through YBNL Nation and Empire Distribution. It was the first song to hit 100 million streams on Audiomack. As of September 2023, the song was the longest-running number-one song on Nigerian Radio Chart. It was also number one on the TurnTable Official Top 100, an aggregate chart that combines TV, radio and streaming platforms. It spent 12 weeks at number one. It was also one of the most streamed songs on Spotify in Nigeria.
Top Boy is the sixth studio album by Nigerian disc jockey and record producer Spinall. It was released on 17 February 2023 through TheCap Music. The album features guest appearances from Stefflon Don, Fireboy DML, Tamera, Phyno, Summer Walker, Amaka, 6lack, Azanti, Olamide, Kemuel, Niniola, Asake, TSB, Äyanna, Amaarae, Blxckie, Reekado Banks, DJ Snake, Zaiam, Minz, Bnxn, Ladipoe, Tay Iwar, Ntosh Gazi and Adekunle Gold. Production was primarily handled by Spinall, along with additional production from Magicsticks, Caltonic SA, D3an, TSB, DJ Snake, The Eggman, Kel-P, NKVY, Ozedikus, Smeez and Unknown Nick.
"New Religion" is a song by Nigerian rapper Olamide. The song is a blend of amapiano, hip-hop, and fuji. Featuring vocals from label signee Asake, the song was released on 2 June 2023 through YBNL Nation and Empire Distribution as the lead single from the former's tenth studio album Unruly (2023).