Local artists are increasingly shaping the sound and scale of African festival culture, as homegrown genres such as amapiano and house dominate stages far beyond the continent. That influence was evident at Nairobi’s Blankets & Wine Kenyan Summer Edition 2025, where SA’s Scorpion Kings — Kabza De Small and DJ Maphorisa — and veteran house trio Mi Casa featured prominently in a line-up spanning Africa and the diaspora. The Scorpion Kings are widely regarded as pioneers of amapiano, a genre born in South African townships that blends deep house, jazz-inflected piano melodies and local rhythms.
Amapiano has become one of Africa’s most successful musical exports, filling clubs and festival stages from Lagos to London. Mi Casa, known for its fusion of house, jazz and soul, brought a distinctly South African flavour to the festival’s “Come We Dance!” theme — a reminder of how the country’s electronic and dance music traditions continue to influence continental trends. The growing presence of South African artists on global and pan-African stages reflects a broader shift: festivals are no longer just local gatherings, but increasingly international platforms for African sound, identity and celebration.
For Kenyan-born singer-songwriter and rapper Elsy Wameyo, that shift became personal during a performance in Copenhagen, Denmark, thousands of kilometres from Nairobi. “I’ll never forget the day I played in Copenhagen and a fan greeted me in Luo,” she recalled. “A greeting in the Kenyan vernacular was the last thing I had expected.” Wameyo, whose sound fuses hip-hop, traditional African music, rap and R&B, said the moment showed how African musicwas travelling far beyond its origins.
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“I feel festivals usually bring out unique and bizarre experiences that you would never get at your regular local gig,” she said. She has since appeared at major international festivals including Pitchfork and Lollapalooza, and released her debut album,Saint Sinner,in 2024. Her debut EP,Nilotic(2022), won six awards at the South Australia Music Awards.
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