Busta 929 speaks on the spread of Amapiano and why he wants to feature artists that don’t make Amapiano

Zkhipani and Tullamore DEW have teamed up to talk to various South African artists to explore the beauty of how they have blended cultures and perspectives to create new artistic expressions. This month we take a look at Busta 929 and his chokehold on Amapiano.

Busta 929 is a undoubtley one of Amapiano’s brightest stars. Having worked with the genres pioneers and biggest stars, his opinion on the next frontier of the genre matters. On this interview, we chat to him about which artists he has worked with and where he began his journey. He also touches on why Amapiano going international is a big deal and how he can contribute to making sure that the genre stays vibrant and multi-faceted.

Busta 929 began his career in Alexandra, Johannesburg where he was born and raised. Because his father was a music lover, it was inevitable for him to follow in that path. With this passion in mind, he started teaching himself how to produce with Fruityloops and once he got the hang of it, he started making music. He has worked on various hits such as Umsenenzi Wethu, Dakiwe and Amaroto EP among many others.

With the growth of his prominence in the Amapiano genre, Busta 929 believes that it’s important for it to be exported to other countries.

“It feels good that Amapiano is now international and playing overseas. This will grow the Amapiano business,” he explains.

The natural progression of the genre relies heavily on how well it can gel with artists from different genres. For example, the evolution of Amapiano will be aided when it can be fused with neo-soul, Kwaito, Hip Hop and so many other genres while still keeping its appearance intact. Busta 929 believes that the blending of these genres with Amapiano will give it texture and depth.

“I wish I could feature artists from different genres in my music. Artists like Babes Wodumo, Dladla Mshunqisi, are some that I would like to feature because they are the pioneers of Gqom and that was the biggest genre. So inviting these Gqom artists into Amapiano will make it hotter.”