Amapiano seems to be unstoppable. All across the continent and across parts of Europe where black music is embraced, its sounds are spreading like wildfire. Behind the decks at the biggest clubs, festivals and other shows where the genre is most prominent, you are likely to find the trailblazing duo Major League DJz.
Twins Bandile and Banele Mbere have been on a tear this past year or two. Leveraging their uncanny ability to latch onto trends in the musical space, they initially hopped onto the sound right as it was showing promise locally and established themselves among its most prominent early pioneers.
On a warm and windy day in Johannesburg, with the twins due at Black Coffee’s Grammy celebration dinner a few hours later, I spoke with the duo in the gorgeous kitchen of their sprawling Midrand home.
One of the biggest contributors in building and sustaining the Major League DJz brand’s visibility within the amapiano space has been their popular Balcony Mixes. “It came about through our transition from New Age Kwaito to amapiano,” Bandile explained. “We used to put out mixes all the time, so we just made our mixes visuals to show the vibe and show how we were DJing to it.”
When lockdown struck in 2020, they then started doing even more of these videos of them mixing, and their viewership skyrocketed. “It’s lockdown, there’s nothing else people will be doing,” said Banele of the logic behind it. “It’s just a platform for people to go listen to the music we’re playing and to also give a lifestyle to amapiano.”
About a month ago, Major League DJz grabbed headlines when they announced that they’d signed a global record deal with Atlantic Records, which is home to the likes of Lizzo, Ed Sheeran, A Boogie, Kodak Black, Silk Sonic and Meek Mill.
“It came after other offers from labels came through,” says Bandile. “We met the CEOs of all these labels: Universal, RCA, etc. The CEO of Atlantic brought us to his house, his name is Craig, and told us he wants to grow the sound and he loves what we’re doing with the sound and Balcony Mix as well. He said they see very big potential in what we’re doing and they want to give us a boost.”
Their strategy in deciding which route to go was simple. They looked at every South African artist that’s signed to an international label and realised no one was signed to Atlantic, so they felt it’d be a good deal to go there and explore how they work.
With their music, the touring and their Balcony Mixes already thriving, I asked them how they felt Atlantic would boost what they’re already doing. “Marketing,” said Bandile. “Right now I don’t think amapiano’s being marketed in that way. There’s still a lot of work we need to do. We’re not even close to where afrobeats is.”
A few weeks after we spoke, the duo performed on the mainstage of one of the most iconic festivals in the world, Coachella. They’re moving fast!
