AMAPIANO AND AFRO-TECH ARTISTS AT THE FOREFRONT OF ULTRA SA
The Smirnoff Storm Room, returned to Ultra SA, the World’s Premier Electronic Music Festival on Saturday, with some of the country’s finest DJs in the line-up.
The Smirnoff Storm Room returned to Ultra South Africa, the World’s biggest electronic dance music festival, in Johannesburg on Saturday, and the packed crowd loved every beat from some of SA’s finest Amapiano and Afro-Tech artists.
Kabza de Small, Musa Keys, Thakzin and DBN Gogo, Kelvin Momo, Tyler ICU and Musa Keys all performed on the Smirnoff Storm Room stage, as did genre-bending DJ Lelowhatsgood, Oscar Mbo, Sio and winner of the recent Smirnoff DJ Search, Star The DJ.
“This has been a great highlight of my career getting on to the Storm Room stage at Ultra South Africa. It has re-energized me and I’m excited for the next part of my journey and the opportunities that lie ahead,” said Star The DJ.
Apart from the stage, the Smirnoff Storm Room included an interactive bar with gaming zone, chill space, and 360-degree photobooth as well as the Smirnoff Sky Box overlooking the Ultra SA main stage, making it one of the places to be at the highly successful event.
South Africa’s hottest music export, Amapiano has gone from a local trend to an international phenomenon. Dominating the streaming world, Amapiano surpassed a billion streams in 2022, with streaming giant Spotify noting that the global popularity of the genre had increased by a further 101% in 2023. In SA itself, Amapiano artists also reign supreme with Kabza Da Small himself SA’s most streamed artist.
“The Smirnoff Storm Room has become a premier platform for Amapiano and Afro-tech and reflects the maverick diversity and inclusion that we stand for in our love of music. We’re excited for Smirnoff Storm to be able to play its role in bringing Amapiano and Afro-Tech to the fore on such a scale,” said Smirnoff South Africa Marketing Manager, Nicole Smith.