Uplifting your soul with Amapiano, Cape Jazz, Kwaito and more.
South Africa never had just one sound. Cape Jazz came out of District Six in the '60s and '70s, bubblegum and protest songs lit up the '80s, kwaito owned the '90s, house went global in the 2000s, and Amapiano took over everything from 2019. The genres overlap, the artists cross over, and the beat never really stops.
It's not just about the music. It's about how each generation took what came before and made it theirs β turning jazz horns into protest, township slang into pop hooks, and local beats into songs the whole world wanted to dance to.
Born in Johannesburg in 1932, Miriam Makeba became the first African artist to win a Grammy Award and the first to bring African music to mainstream Western audiences. Exiled for 30 years for speaking out against apartheid, she turned her music into a weapon of peaceful resistance β performing alongside Harry Belafonte, marching with Nelson Mandela, and addressing the United Nations. Her voice carried an entire continent's grief and joy simultaneously.
Hugh Masekela's trumpet was the soundtrack of South African freedom. He left South Africa in 1960 after Sharpeville, spending decades in exile β performing with jazz royalty in New York and campaigning tirelessly against apartheid. His 1968 hit Grazing in the Grass reached number one in the US. He returned after 1990 and spent his final decades celebrating a liberated South Africa.
Born Adolph Brand in Cape Town's District Six, Abdullah Ibrahim is one of the greatest pianists Africa has produced. His compositions weave Cape Malay melodies, Islamic devotional music, and bebop into something entirely his own β a sound born from streets apartheid demolished. Approaching 90, he returned to Cape Town in 2026 for the International Jazz Festival.
Formed in Johannesburg the year Nelson Mandela was elected president, Bongo Maffin embodied the euphoria of post-apartheid South Africa. Led by Thandiswa Mazwai, they fused Xhosa and Zulu oral traditions with pounding electronic beats and social commentary. Thathisigubhu (1998) remains a defining track of the rainbow nation era.
Few South African acts have shown Mafikizolo's staying power. Theo Kgosinkwe and Nhlanhla Nciza have been making hits for nearly three decades, moving effortlessly from 1990s kwaito to contemporary Afropop. Their warm harmonies, multilingual lyrics, and irresistible rhythms make them a fixture at every South African celebration.
Called the "Madonna of the Townships", Brenda Fassie grew up in Cape Town's Langa and became South Africa's most beloved pop star. Her song Black President, written in anticipation of Mandela's release, became one of the most politically charged pop songs in African history. She died at 39, but her music has never left.
Nkosinathi Innocent Maphumulo β Black Coffee β took South African electronic music to the world stage. A regular at Ibiza's biggest clubs, he headlined Coachella and won the Grammy for Best Dance/Electronic Album in 2023. His sound β rooted in Durban township house and polished for global dancefloors β is the definitive sound of modern South Africa.
Founded by Joseph Shabalala in Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, this vocal group brought Zulu isicathamiya music to the world. Their collaboration with Paul Simon on Graceland (1986) introduced millions to South African harmony. With five Grammy Awards, they remain the most internationally recognised South African group of all time.
This Cape Town trio blends indie-pop hooks with Afropop rhythm and marimba-inflected textures. Their debut album The Hanging Gardens of Beatenberg (2014) became a South African favourite, and their sound β cerebral yet danceable β represents a new generation bridging local and international sensibilities.
Born in KwaZulu-Natal, Sun-El Musician became one of South Africa's most streamed artists with his ethereal Afro house sound. His 2017 hit Akanamali, featuring Samthing Soweto, crossed over from clubs to mainstream radio and became an anthem. His music layers hypnotic melodies over deep basslines, creating a dreamlike dancefloor experience.
Featured track β press play to listen
Born in the corridors of District Six, Cape Jazz fuses traditional African rhythms with bebop, blues, and the soul of the Cape Malay community. Artists like Hugh Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim carried it to the world stage.
Explore Cape JazzThe sound of a generation. Amapiano emerged from Soweto's townships in the late 2010s, blending deep house, jazz, and log drums. Artists like DJ Maphorisa and Kabza De Small turned it into a global phenomenon.
Explore AmapianoPost-apartheid liberation music. Kwaito slowed down house beats and layered them with township slang, becoming the voice of South Africa's youth in the 1990s. Brenda Fassie and TKZee brought it alive on every dance floor.
Explore Kwaito