South African artists across the spectrum continued to thrive in 2023. From amapiano to hip hop, our songs took the world by storm.
Here’s our pick of the top 5 local songs of 2023.
“Water” by Tyla
The South African-born global sensation took over the local and international airwaves during the latter part of the year with her hit single, “Water”.
The song broke records along the way as Tyla became the first solo SA artist to enter the US Billboard Hot 100 since jazz legend Hugh Masekela’s “Grazing in the Grass”, 55 years ago. Her song currently sits at number 20 on the that music chart.
The song was also remixed twice. The first with rapper, Travis Scott and then with American music producer and DJ, Marshmello.
The TikTok “Water” dance challenge further grew the song's popularity with millions of users posting their version of the challenge on the app.
Tyla gets the top spot on our list.
“Mnike” by Tyler ICU featuring DJ Maphorisa, Nandipha808, Ceeka RSA and Tyron Dee
Tyler ICU’s amapiano track, “Mnike” also went viral this year with several international celebrities hopping on the dance challenge since its release in April.
The song made history by becoming the first 2023 release to reach 10 million streams on Spotify and the fastest to do so.
Reaching multi-platinum status in under three months, the song has become an anthem around the world.
The single is currently sitting on over 32 million streams on YouTube alone.
Earlier this month the artist received 8 platinum plaques for the single.
“Mnike” continues to be a fan favourite and we’re certain it’s going to be played at least once at every sought-after party this festive season.
“Dalie” by Kamo Mphela, Khalil Harrison, and Tyler ICU
Kamo Mphela's new single “Dalie” has been an instant hit with fans since its release in October.
The chart-topping single which has been featured on TikTok's Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) Top 50 Chart for three consecutive weeks now, has accumulated over 1.86 billion views and more than 120 million likes from fans across the globe.
Mphela also became the first South African lead female artist in history to have a song receive more than 100K daily streams on SA Spotify. The last female artist to do this was Adele back in 2021.
“Dalie” also retained a high ranking on all major streaming platforms. It was number one on Audiomack, second on YouTube and Shazam, and third on Spotify and Apple Music.
Its infectious beat and dynamic choreography also had scores of people doing the dance challenge.
“Company” by AKA, featuring KDDO
Rapper AKA’s team released “Company” just a week after his tragic death on February 10.
The song features Nigerian star KDDO, who AKA previously collaborated with on 2018’s “Touch My Blood” album standout, “Fela In Versace”.
By mid-February “Company” was the number one song in the country on Apple Music and among the top five on Spotify and YouTube Music.
On the single, AKA continued his rich form as he rapped effortlessly over KDDO’s mellow and vibey production. “Just trust in me, I’ll build you a masterpiece,” he rapped.
10 months after it’s release, the song has been viewed over 5.3 million times on YouTube.
AKA’s “Mass Country” album went on to win several awards this year.
“Umbayimbayi” by Inkabi Zezwe
“Umbayimbayi” was named the Most Voted Song of the Year at the 18th annual South African Traditional Music Achievement Awards (Satmas) held recently.
Their chart-topping first single was released on March 24 and immediately went viral, topping Apple Music’s Top 25 Johannesburg, Durban, and Top 100 South Africa Charts as well as iTunes.
The song also dominated Spotify’s Made in South Africa, Bhinca Nation, and Hot Hits South Africa playlists.
“Umbayimbayi” also spent five weeks (three consecutive) at number 1 on national radio and six weeks at number 2 when it was released.