The final quarter of the South African calendar never fails to produce a fresh crop of soundtracks tailored for joyous celebrations of the festive season and fitting songs for the end credits of the year as the new age dawns on the nation. Two of amapiano’s most celebrated record producers and DJs Kabza De Small and De Mthuda have merged minds for their upcoming single, “Diwa Kae”, due to drop on the 1st of November 2024. The King of Amapiano and the Landlord are joined by Young Stunna, Mthunzi, Mkeyz, and McKenzie.
A mellifluous offering, “Diwa Kae” is an upbeat amapiano track imbued with the tropical levity of salsa music flavoured with sprightly log drums, sporadic piano keys, and a moderate treatment of fluttering harmonica. The cross-bred sounds texture the song with Caribbean and Spanish sensibilities.
The first verse is a stage-setter that plots the beginning of the song between Johannesburg and Pretoria, with manyora as the primary characters of the night life. The opening verse leans on rich imagery to depict the events of the night as backed by the pre-chorus that also inflates the hype of the lead producers: “K’sazoba mnandi, sojaiv’ ubsuku bonke / Sipheth’ uDe Mthuda, zisazowa more!”
“Diwa Kae” single cover art | SUPPLIED
Stunna’s second verse is a mirror of the first, with the primary objective expanding upon on the preparation that leads up to the climax which is fulfilled at the club where everybody’s energies are being directed.
The party-starting narratives of the pair of verses are supported by simple call-and-response hooks, “Kabza, diwa kae? Mthuda, diwa kae? Kabza, diwa kae? Re batsene!” Structurally, the lyrical content is symmetrical, cementing the song’s identity as the theme music for groove denizens and afterparty chasers who predicate their nights and weekends on chopping life, rejoicing with friends and new people, and living on the edge with abandon and without regard for what comes after.
“Diwa Kae” is a fusion of Kabza’s intrinsic hard-hitting piano and Mthuda’s signature laidback relentless sound, spawning ear candy for rides to the beach and late evenings in the club sure to become a relic of night life with the gradual march of the passage of time.
