Thembinkosi Khumalo, Sunday Life Reporter
WHEN Amapiano revolutionised the music industry in recent years, one lingering thought was on people’s minds: Is this the one or like other genres before, the bubble will pop and it will come and go?
That question was answered song by song, artiste by artiste and event by event and Amapiano owes its existence to artistes such as the Scorpion Kings duo of DJ Maphorisa and Kabza De Small, Mr JazziQ, Kamo Mphela and the recent Atlantic Records recruits, Major League DJs.
Recently, the festive season has belonged to the Yanos and such a feat shows that, as it is, the genre is here to stay and Zimbabweans have equally enjoyed the sound as South Africans have.
South African Amapiano artistes have taken turns to perform in Zimbabwe and revellers have flocked to such shows to dance their nights out.
The Scorpion Kings, Major League DJ, Young Stunna, Boohle, Kamo Mphela and Zimbabwe’s very own ShaSha have all performed in Zimbabwe lately.
In 2020, Bulawayo events management company Group Therapy came up with an idea to host the Amapiano Festival. Group Therapy’s managing director and Amapiano Festival co-ordinator Vuyisile Ndlovu said the company’s first event was held in 2020.
“The Amapiano Festival, also known as the Yanos Fest, actually was established by the need to diversify. Since December 2020, Group Therapy has been hosting smaller, niche events like Comedy Nights and Game Nights, so last year we decided to go the mainstream route. We wanted to create an event in December that will act as thanksgiving and celebration of the year.
“So, after careful planning, we decided that Amapiano was the theme to run with. It’s a nice and chilled genre, popularly associated with nice times, or ‘enjoyment’ as it’s popularly known.
So, it only felt befitting that we run with Amapiano. Our first fest was on 19 December. It went so well that we decided to have another one barely 12 days later, and since then the movement has been growing.
“The reception has been nothing short of amazing, if not overwhelming. We had no idea we could grow so exponentially in a short space of time, especially considering that our business model does not cater for popular international artistes as well.
We capitalised on giving our audience an experience instead of entertainment, and Bulawayo responded well to that,” he said.
For a long time, the Yanos has been held in and around the city but the organisers are planning to extend it to other cities.
“At the moment we have Harare, Victoria Falls and Gweru is on the cards, but we are not limiting ourselves to just those three,” said Ndlovu.
Ndlovu said that with the popularity of the festival, he feels that an expansion is inevitable amid the saturation of the local market.
“We have since decided to retire the Amapiano Festival after Volume 3 on 17 April and a countrywide tour will commence thereafter because we feel like the market has become saturated and we have more to offer it other than just Amapiano music.
We just want to give other people a chance, so much so that we will be hosting an Event Organising Masterclass after Volume 3, free for all who are interested to attend,” he said.
Commenting on the Event Organising Masterclass, Ndlovu said that will be a collective effort from the Group to impart valuable knowledge on events management.
“Having been a master of ceremony for years before going into event planning, the Masterclass will naturally be presented by me, but I will be remiss if I do not recognise the contributions of Emmanuel Matsika, Group Therapy’s operations director, Arnold Ndlovu, the Yanos Fest sound coordinator, and the Group Therapy Community as a whole.
As such, all the knowledge that is going into the Masterclass is not just mine, but a collection from the brilliant minds that make our events possible, “he said.