We are gathered here today to mourn the death of the once loved amapiano genre whose life, though short, was filled with many great and unforgettable memories. The cause of this unfortunate death is due to the unprofessionalism that has become rampant.
The amapiano genre and industry have become one of the fastest growing South African exports, as it has become mainstream in various countries across the world, including the United Kingdom and Nigeria, where amapiano parties and events are hosted regularly. The growth of the genre has given various artists opportunities and opened plenty of doors for them to showcase their projects to different audiences in the form of bookings.
Taking to X,(formerly Twitter) popular event’s director Thulani Dandala voiced his ongoing frustration with some artists in the amapiano industry as they have proven on various occasions that professionalism is not their top priority. In his lengthy statement, he highlights that his line of work has revealed that amapiano artists and their management teams do not have the skills or capacity to handle their administration and logistics, and has resulted in a majority of artists showing up late or not at all to most bookings.
” The root of the problem? Overbooking and mismanagement. Piano artists are taking too many gigs a day, then inevitably showing up late (or exhausted) for all of them. It’s pure gluttony,” he says in frustration.
Despite his love for amapiano, Thulani has urged upcoming and established artists to take themselves, their careers and other people’s time seriously, as their behaviour has cast a dark cloud over the industry’s reputation, as they often place bets as to which artist is going to arrive the latest or not at all.
This statement garnered much attention as users chimed in on the matter, agreeing with Thulani and recounting their own experiences with their favourite artists not showing up to some highly anticipated events, with Kelvin Momo emerging as one popular artist who is guilty of this. These users have encouraged event organisers to give more upcoming acts with much to prove a chance, rather than those who fail to respect themselves and others.
“Kelvin Momo NEVER shows up… Felo Le Tee very unreliable,” one user says.
“I kept checking which stage we must be at for what performance, then we get there, dololo artist, or it’s someone else. Now it adds up. Also, that one with the denim jumpsuit and Gucci cap owes us, because what was that,” another user recounts their personal experience with being stood up.
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