The South African music industry has one of the most unpredictable landscapes in the culture, and that’s what keeps it ever so refreshing and vibrant.

No one can be comfortable at the top.

Every couple of years, a whole new wave, sound and dance fad comes along to replace everything we’d love for a for few summers before it.

This past year certainly belonged to amapiano, a trend that is likely to continue for a few more years. It came with whole set of jive vibes, including the viral ‘pouncing cat’ dance craze that rocked the streets everywhere.

Before then, Gqom had caused more than a frenzy on the dance floors. And much like amapiano produced a slew of new artists, like Kabza De Small, Sha Sha, Njelic et al, Gqom gave us the likes of Babes Wodumo, Tipcee, Mshunqisi and Distruction Boyz.

As 2020 sets in, there are some signs indicating what kinds of trends we should anticipate in music this year.

The rise of soulful vocalists, such as Mthunzi, Ami Faku and Indiana is painting an interesting picture of where things could potertially go.

But while we observe the trends unfold, house music (and its sub-genres) is already unleashing bangers we know will come to shake things up in the lead up to the looming winter.

Here’s a list of newly released house music jams you should check out!

BANTU ELEMENTS FEATURING MKEYZ – ‘PUSHAA’

My personal leanings are definitely towards the deeper house sounds. The blending of a jazzy feel with ethereal vocals over a steady, mid-tempo beat that has been engineered with such care and skill is why they call it expensive music!

Bantu Elements impresses with the release of Pushaa, which makes for a great edition to your workout playlist as well. It feels fresh, new but still tugs at the heartstrings of nostalgia.

The track, while primarily about the hustle (if you overlook some of the sexual overtones, of course!) and the groove.

It’s lush and smooth, a welcome chill from the frenzy of the previous festive season.

KABZA DE SMALL & DJ MAPHORISA – ‘HELLO’ 

DJ Maphorisa and Kabza De Small continue their reign on the charts. There are no signs that the collaborative duo is looking at any options to slow down their pace.

They have a ‘don’t mess with the tempo, don’t miss with the consistency’ vibe that’s going on, and we suspect it’s how they’ve been able to release no less than four albums between them in less than two years.

Following the success of their second joint album, Return of Scorpion Kings, which came out in December 2019, the amapiano hit makers have collated a cohesive set of no less than 14 new tracks.

On their third album, Scorpion Kings Live, the dance music outfit unleashes one hour and 33 minutes of straight fire.

The second single of the album, Hello, is catching momentum on dance-floors and on the airwaves.

Lawd Porry proves here that he knows what works vocally, and delivers a spirited chant as he promises the subject of his affections that he intends on treating her to the fine things of life.

MOBI DIXON & NAAKMUSIQ FT. NICHUME AND BLOWZIT AVENUE ‘CAMAGU’ 

Mobi Dixon, on the other hands, revs up the tempo.

On the first single since the release of his critically applauded album 10 Steps Forward, the award-winning producer unveils the beautiful posthumous vocals by the late Nichume.

The harmony between Naakmusic’s raspy peaks and her hovering soulful delivery will give you goosebumps.

“Idlozi linamandla”, they sing (The ancestor has power). The themes covered in the song bring about a spiritual appreciation of what they’ve done together, particularly as Nichume is no longer with us.

PRINCE KAYBEE, BLACK MOTION, SHIMZA & AMI FAKU – ‘UWRONGO’

This collaboration is the closest thing we can liken to our musical version of a Marvel blockbuster film!

Here you have the finest producers in the country, each with their own sound and their own distinctions, assemble on the production of a highly appreciated offering.

What’s remarkable about their song uWrongo, which premiered in January 2020, is how the completed work manages to bring something entirely fresh and exciting, while also playing on their most loved MO’s.

We cannot get enough of Ami Faku’s sun-drenched, husky voices hovering over this fresh instrumental. She’s such a force to be reckoned it.

DJ BONGZ – ‘SONG OF JOY’

The wave may have roared towards Pretoria in the past summer, thanks to the emergence of amapiano, but Durban looks to remind us all why they owned the streets between 2009 and 2018.

DJ Bongz though, had been putting out street anthems way before then.

As unassuming as he is, always keeping a rather low profile until it’s time to bring out something new, he’s a leader in the music business. For those who aren’t aware, he’s the one behind the ‘gwara gwara’ dance that rose to become a worldwide phenomenon.

We are delighted then the DJ Bongz had returned with a new album, Son of God.

The 14-track project, which we will have up in our ALBUM REVIEWS section soon enough, has kickstarted with the debut of the first single, Song of Joy.

It’s a love song, sang beautifully with the Zulu poetic justice he’s shown us in some of his previous works.

Discover New Music Music, Exclusive Interviews and Album Reviews on QuenchSA.com