Here are the top 8 genres that rocked Mzansi this year (2020).
Some would say that 2020 was a crazy and unexpected year, and we would very well agree. While artists couldn’t perform their songs at events, we only had the radio, digital and streaming sites, and social media to connect to their music.
Even without the Live events, certain artists managed to own the year with their hits. Many musical genres were well represent in the airwaves. About 8 of them made so much impact this year, with a lot of hits hitting the number one spot and staying there for weeks. Here’s 8 of them;
1. Amapiano
Contrary to the opinion that Amapiano would not be the year’s most dominant genre like it was last year, it still claimed the airwaves. Hits such as “Emcimbini” by Kabza De & DJ Maphorisa, “Sponono” by Kabza De Small, “Ke Star” by Focalistic, “John Vuli Gate” by Mapara A Jazz were very much dominant. They all hit the top spot on the charts for multiple weeks, and received a lot of airplay on the radio. A few of them inspired dance challenges across social media, and received praise from music fans. You could say that Amapiano remained the year’s most dominant genre.
2. SA Hip Hop
The SA Hip Hop genre boasted a lot of consistency from artists this year. Most of the year’s top charting hits were Hip Hop joints. Some of them include Miss Pru DJ’s very big “Price To Pay”, Gemini Major’s “Right Now Reloaded”, Nasty C’s “There They Go”, Cassper Nyovest’s “Good For That”, AKA’s “Energy”, Emtee’s “Waves” and more. These songs notched multiple weeks on the charts, and also claimed the airwaves. “Price To Pay” was particularly the biggest Hip Hop song of the year, earning praise from SA Hip Hop fans, and raking in millions of streams.
3. Afro Beats
The Afro Beats genre became one of the year’s most dominant genres spreading all through Mzansi with hits for days. Nigeria’s Burna Boy particularly owned the charts with songs from his chart-topping album “Twice As Tall”. Other artists including JoeBoy, DJ Neptune, Rema, Davido and more charted songs like “Nobody”, “Ginger”, “Wonderful”, “Woman” and more. A lot of them received massive airplay. Wizkid’s 2019 hit “Joro” made a comeback and spawned the #JoroChallenge. Mzansi artists including Busiswa and more also featured on some Afro Beats hits. Mzansi embraced more Afro Beats tunes this year more than the previous years.
4. Maskandi
Like we stated earlier, every musical genre was represented in the airwaves this year including Maskandi. Just as much as every other artist, Maskandi musicians including Khuzani, Ntencane, Igcokama Elisha, Thokozani Langa, Professor and more claimed the airwaves with various hits. A few of them include “Ngiyesaba”, “Is’korokoro Sami”, “Goma Goma”, “Imandi Lengoma” and more. Some of these songs charted for multiple weeks on the Apple Music charts. They also received massive airplay in the airwaves, earning generally favourable reviews from fans and critics. It was truly a year of consistency for Maskandi.
5. House
The House genre particularly claimed the airwaves this year. From the beginning of the year hits such as “Into Ingawe” by Sun-El Musician & Ami Faku, “Uwrongo” by Prince Kaybee, “Xola Moya Wami” by Nomcebo Zikode & Master KG, “Ibhanoyi” and more took over the charts and the airwaves. DJ Zinhle’s 2019 chart-topper “Umlilo” also spilled into this year, claiming the radio and streaming sites just like it did last year. Slow and face tempo-ed House jams flooded the music charts, and became fan favourites. Prince Kaybee’s stunner “Uwrongo” earned a much deserved spot on Time’s list of the 10 best songs of 2020. That’s huge bragging rights.
6. Gospel
There has never been a year when the Gospel music genre did not impact the airwaves massively. 2020 wasn’t any different. Gospel music ministers became one of the most consistent artists in the airwaves this year. From Joyous Celebration, to Dumi Mkokstad, Benjamin Dube, DJ Tumi, Khaya Mthethwa, Vusi Nova, Tshwane Gospel Choir, Kelly Khumalo and more, artists delivered big tunes to the airwaves.
Kelly Khumalo’s chart-topper “Esiphambanweni” featuring Hlengiwe Mhlaba became the year’s biggest Gospel song. It earned millions of streams across various platforms, and also received a lot of airplay on the radio. It also earned positive reviews from critics and Gospel music fans.
7. Gqom
While some believe that the Gqom genre is not as dominant as it used to be, Gqom made a resounding statement this year. We can’t count how many hits that were delivered to the airwaves in 2020 because there was a lot of them. The Queen of Gqom, Babes Wodumo and boyfriend, Mampintsha earned spots at the top of the charts with their very successful albums. Afrotainment boss, DJ Tira, became one of the year’s most consistent hit makers dropping hits including “Thank You Mr DJ” featuring Joocy, and more. uBizza Wethu, Mr Thela, Mshayi, LaSoulMates, Sho Madjozi and more also made a lot of impact in the airwaves. The biggest of them all was Master KG’s “Jerusalema” featuring Nomcebo, which owned 2020. It earned over 100 million streams on Spotify alone, 260 million on YouTube, and also claimed the radio, spawning the #JerusalemaDanceChallenge.
8. Afro Soul
You can’t close out this list without including Afro Soul. Afro Soul genres made a lot of impact in the airwaves and the charts, earning multiple weeks of airplay and downloads. From Mafikizolo’s “Ngeke Balunge”, Berita’s “Jikizinto”, to Kelly Khumalo’s “Empini”, Afro Soul jams earned millions of streams and lots of airplay on the charts. “Empini” earned multiple weeks on the charts, and has been one of the year’s most successful releases.
