There’s something special brewing in the South African music scene right now.
By: Shingai Darangwa
WHILE the Grammy award-winning Black Coffee and local amapiano stars like Uncle Waffles and Focalistic tour the Northern Hemisphere, there’s a talented crop of new talent coming up.
Here, we highlight and weigh in on some of the most notable new acts across amapiano, R&B and hip hop.
AMAPIANO
Konke
The Durban singer-songwriter Konke fills his sonic canvas with dynamic, bold shapes on “Kancane”, the amapiano hit single that first put him on the map in 2022.
Alongside the prodigious talents of Musa Keys and other talented newcomers from his label, House of Tayo, Konke stood out as a fresh, young talent to look out for.
He’s since put out several other solo and collaborative singles that have made clear the full scope of his talents.
Recently, Konke capped off a memorable past year by releasing his debut project titled “Malandela”.
Toss
When a video of Toss rapping like a seasoned pro alongside K.O on the “Sete” star’s most recent single, “Rockabye”, started to go viral online a few weeks ago, many fans were shocked to discover Toss’ lyrical prowess.
And the reason for that is that over the past year and a half, he’s been so prolific as an amapiano vocalist that many forget that he has a hip hop background.
Despite his flexibility, Toss is a bona fide amapiano star that’s got the potential to establish himself as THE go-to guy in the genre over the coming years.
R&B
Gemma Fassie
Being the progeny of someone as iconic as Brenda Fassie can be a catch-22. For one, it can help get you into rooms that you may not otherwise have been able to get into.
And on the other hand, the weight of expectation and the accompanying public scrutiny can also be crippling.
But for Gemma Fassie, a niece of the late icon, the pressure of the familial association doesn’t appear to be holding her back in any way.
Instead, the 24-year-old has been gradually making waves over the past year and looks set to have a breakthrough in 2023 after a series of viral videos put her on the map.
Having recently relocated from Cape Town to Johannesburg, she seems to be on the cusp of becoming something quite special.
Nanette
Nanette is one of the handful of pure R&B vocalists who’ve delved in and found true mainstream success in amapiano.
Her two features (“Fool Me” and “Imfula”) on Kelvin Momo’s most recent “private school” amapiano album, “Amukelani”, formed the heart of arguably the two most potent songs on the entire album. And that’s saying a lot when you consider just how exceptional the album is.
But Nanette has always made clear, through her branding and her releases, that she intends to focus on her career as an R&B artist, and she won’t be shifting into amapiano full-time like many of her peers have done over the past few years.
If she can find that one R&B record that blows up, then the sky’s the limit.
Joda Kgosi
It’s difficult to contextualise just how brilliant Joda Kgosi’s vocal and writing performance was on “444 (Joda’s Interlude)”.
The low-strung, emotive cut off MashBeatz’ 2022 album, “This is Religion”, is one of the most impressive R&B songs out of South Africa over the past year and is a great reminder of the wealth of talent that still exists in the space.
While the talented Johannesburg-born and bred songstress has been bubbling under for a couple of years now, one gets the sense that she’s finally figuring herself out and ready to take the genre by storm.
HIP HOP
Loatinover Pounds
Loatinover Pounds is the worst-kept secret in the local hip hop scene.
Armed with arguably the hottest hip hop record in the country with the inescapable “Sosh Plata Remix” featuring 25K and Thapelo Ghutra, all eyes are on the young Pitori newcomer as everyone eagerly waits to see what else he has up his sleeve and if he’s the real deal.
Judging from his debut album, “Hood Misunderstood”, which dropped last July, he’s got what it takes to take the industry by storm and establish himself as the new face of SA hip hop.
For now, though, “Sosh Plata – Remix” shows no signs of slowing down.
Thato Saul
Thato Saul has been riding on the crest of the wave from AKA’s posthumously released banger, “Mbuzi Freestyle”, on which he’s featured, for the past few months.
For many, this was their first encounter with the talented, hard-spitting rapper out of Pretoria’s vast reservoir of musical talent. But in trust, Saul has been on the verge of a proper blow-up since he first exploded onto the scene with a mesmeric verse on “Byor Bo Dese” back in 2021.
He’s done a lot since then, and if his trajectory is anything to go by, he’s about to do a whole lot more.
