Dan Lu samples amapiano beat
For fun seekers who frequent clubs and other entertainment places, the amapiano sound, originally from South Africa, is nothing new.
It is actually the in-thing. It was no surprise, therefore, when local musician Dan Lu decided to sample the trending genre and mix it with Chichewa lyrics.
He has released a pure amapiano song titled Uziyankha Phone. The song, however, features none other than the guys behind the biggest amapiano song at the moment titled John Vuli Gate. They are Ntosh Gazi and Vukani.
Ntosh Gazi has become popular in Malawi because of John Vuli Gate, which is now an anthem in the entertainment world while Vukani is best known for the recent song Gong Gong.
Dan Lu met the two amapiano hitmakers during his recent shows in the Rainbow Nation, he says.
“I had a tour in Johannesburg and Cape Town. The same weekend Mapara [one of the artists behind the John Vuli Gate song] and Vukani had a show next to the venue where I was performing.
“So, after their show, they came to watch my performance and they loved my energy. They came backstage to meet me. We shared phone numbers and arranged studio time. And that’s how this collabo came by,” Dan Lu said in an interview.
The song, released last week, talks about a woman whose love is great but, unfortunately, she is hardly available.
“It is in basic terms appreciating the lady and asking her to make herself available. She is good and sweet, but her phone is always off,” he explained.
Dan Lu said working with the artists plus the producer, Golden Beats Boy from South Africa was a learning experience for him.
“It was an amazing experience working with these two artists. Apart from the great creative atmosphere we generated during our session, it was a great learning experience and a great way to create a mutual working relationship and fill the gap that has been there between Malawian and South African artists,” said the Nsanje hitmaker.
Beyond that, the award-winning artist hopes to break into the international market, especially South Africa and believes the collaboration will reinforce his dream.
Said Dan Lu: “My goal has always been to put our country on the map in terms of industrial recognition. Currently, John Vuli Gate has become a phenomenal hit across the African continent. I believe that collaborating with the artists is the perfect opportunity to penetrate the African market on the basis of the influence that they currently hold.”
Uziyankha Phone comes months after the artist released another song titled Chakalaka. It brings to six the number of singles that Dan Lu has dropped this year. The others are Pretending, Ine, Everything Happens for a Reason and Sweet Pass. The artist said they will all be part of his Game Changer album to be released in April 2021.
In a separate interview, Vukani said he was attracted to Dan Lu as he is “one of the best in Malawi.”
“Uziyankha Phone is one of the best Amapiano songs. I am loving the connection between the two countries, so it’s amazing. It’s like a cultural exchange as he will get to be known in South Africa as well because of this collaboration,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ntosh Gazi and Vukani are set to perform in Malawi on December 18.
“We will perform together at the Mingle, formerly Cockpit in Lilongwe,” said Dan Lu.
Dan Lu has three albums under his belt, namely Shupi (2004), No Size (2006) and So What? (2012).
