Focalistic on the Preservation of Amapiano

South African Amapiano superstar, Lethabo Sebetso, better known as Focalistic, has made a case for preservation of Amapiano. According to the ‘Ke Star’ artist, who made the point during Spotify Amapiano’s tour in South Africa, the  conversations about gatekeeping the genre must take centre stage.

“We understand that as much as the sound is going international, it needs to be protected so we keep the pioneers as the pioneers, just like any genre. For hip-hop, you know about Run DMC and their iconic moments. So for us, it’s about how we gate keep, especially the culture and history, so that as much as it goes around the world, people never forget who created Amapiano.”

Focalistic also noted that it is time for an African Hall of Fame.

“I think it’s a shame South Africa doesn’t have a hall of fame that documents culture in general, because, as much as it can go, we must never forget the pioneers. So how do we protect the pioneers going forward, because we can see it’s inevitable that Amapiano will grow.”

The Spotify Amapiano tour was a three-day exploration of the history of Amapiano which started from Mamelodi in Pretoria and has now become a global sound uniting Africans and non-Africans. Focalistic who hails from Pretoria reminisced on how they used to come to a JackBudha, a pub in Mamelodi and listen to tracks for hours.

“For us, it was an escape from the noise of hip hop at the time and a way to feel closer to our roots. We come from the House. I think that’s what Amapiano is all about. Just being from Africa. We are obsessed with saying things in our own voice. We want to dress in our clothes and say things in our voices and sound like ourselves. That’s what Amapiano is all about,” he concluded.

The artist also gave a hint of a collaboration with a Nigerian artist. According to him, the song was recently recorded.