Understanding amapiano and the South African city through the music videos of Big Flexa and Bhebha

Abstract

This article explores the impact of the new South African music and dance sub-genre, amapiano, on contemporary South African youth culture, and how this contributes to the ways in which youth practice (re)define the understandings of youth and urbanities in parts of South Africa over the past decade. I analyse two selected amapiano music videos, Big Flexa (2021) by Costa Titch and Bhebha (2023) by Myztro, Mellow & Sleazy, QuayR Musiq, Matuteboy, ShaunMusiQ & Ftears and Xduppy posted on YouTube, exploring their representations of urbanities, South African youth and amapiano culture, and what I conceptualise as cyber-hinterlands in this article. By analysing these themes, the article addresses a range of key cultural and socio-political concerns that represent predominant interests of amapiano makers, consumers, fans and remixers. Recent scholarship on African urbanities has highlighted the porousness of neat rural-urban divides and brought the study of the rural “hinterland” more closely into considerations of African citiness. This article argues for recognising the digital media landscape, largely non-existent during the eras of earlier genres like jazz, kwaito and others, as a cyber-hinterland, akin to the supposed rural “other,” where amapiano youth culture flourishes and profoundly shapes youths’ understanding and experience of urban spaces in South Africa.