Rolling Stone Menu South African Star Kabza De Small’s Key Amapiano Tracks
One of South Africa’s most-streamed musicians, Kabza has been instrumental to the rise of amapiano, a bright and jazzy house style culled from local sounds and global R&B. Here are six of his favorite tracks in the surging genre
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Kabza De Small is a foundational figure in amapiano, a subgenre of South African house music that’s taking over that country and poised to blow up worldwide. Alone and as a part of Scorpion Kings with DJ Maphorisa a super-producer with Drake and Major Lazer credits, whom Kabza once admired from afar De Small has helped to elevate the genre to new heights in style and popularity. “He started a huge trend,” Maphorisa says of Kabza, with reverence. “Amapiano started as instrumentals in the beginning. [Kabza] added voices and then the whole game changed. He really played a big role to a