There is no denying that South Africa has some of the best musicians the world has to offer.
Travel anywhere in the world and you are bound to hear a South African song somewhere.
From golden oldies by Miriam Makeba to new genres like amapiano and gqom- the world can't get enough of our music.
South African musicians have aggressively been making their mark abroad for years and it’s no surprise that our music is embraced.
Here is our list of 2020’s biggest South African stars in music
Master KG
No list of Mzansi’s biggest music stars would be complete without the award-winning duo that gave the world “Jerusalema”.
The hit song has brought in countless awards for the duo and has given them international recognition.
An accompanying dance challenge, attributed to a group of Angolan friends performing the choreography in a candid video, helped the song go viral online.
The #JerusalemaChallenge, which has been compared to the “Macarena”, spawned dance videos from many countries, including Israel, the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, Spain, France, Jamaica, Canada and the United States
Nasty C
It’s been a great year for this young hitmaker. In March, Nasty C signed a joint venture deal with Def Jam Africa Records, with the release of his single "There They Go" as his debut under the label.
In April, he released the visual EP “Lost Files”, with the songs presented in performance clips on YouTube.
He explained the EP's concept stating: "They're songs that didn't make it onto certain projects, songs that ended up as just ideas". In May, the EP was uploaded on Apple Music.
Later that month he made his acting debut with a cameo role in the six-part Netflix African original young adult series “Blood & Water”, playing the role of music producer, Zhero.
Nasty C teamed up with American rapper T.I. for the protest song "They Don't", with the proceeds from the song benefiting the non-profit organizations Until Freedom and the Solidarity Fund, with lyrics referencing the death of George Floyd.
He then also released his much-anticipated album “Zulu Man with Some Power”, his first full LP with Def Jam Africa.
DJ Maphorisa
This music producer and DJ did what needed to be done to make the pots happen this year when he kept everyone in a jovial mood when everything seemed to make no sense.
Thanks to his amanpiano hits, Maphorisa delivered a number of hits this year in which he collaborated with a number of chart-topping artists.
Kabza De Small
Kabza is to amapiano what Tiwa Savage is to Afropop.
Often referred to as the king of this new genre that has taken Mzansi by storm, Kabza released one of the biggest albums of the year, “I Am the King of Amapiano (Sweet And Dust)”. With 27 songs, Kabza’s album can keep us all dancing well into 2022.
AKA
While it is sometimes hard to remember that AKA is an award-winning rapper given his antics on Twitter, the star did have a good year.
Not only did he released his latest album, “Bhovamania”, he also launched his own online TV platform and saw his show “The Braai Show With AKA” get picked up by SABC1.
On his latest album, the hitmaker teamed up with stars like Sho Madjozi, L-Tido, Yanga Chief and Gemini Major.
