Reggae-dancehall artiste Samini has disclosed that South Africa’s reigning music genre, Amapiano, is a rebranded version of the Ghanaian popular genre, Azonto.
According to him, the South Africans added some elements and twisted the Azonto into Amapiano.
Speaking in a media interview, Samini explained that when Ghana’s Azonto went viral, many countries tried to infuse some elements to repackage the tune to make it theirs.
“We had Azonto; it was a wave, and people were doing it across different countries as well, so it’s now past and gone.”
“Today, if you do Azonto and you add one or two things to it, somebody will say it’s Amapiano, but Amapiano is something that is already South African,” he noted.
Samini then advised colleagues to repackage Ghanaian genres to reclaim the genres that other countries have improved and fused into their existing genres to make the industry vibrant and marketable.
“Amapiano is always going to be South African, so after everybody tries with Azonto, in the end, it’s Ghana that you will connect it to. Amapiano will also be connected to South Africa, but going forward, Ghana’s music will remain Ghana music,” he added.
Source: Ghana/MaxTV/MaxFM/max.com.gh/Joyceline Natally Cudjoe
