“It was nerve-wracking.” South African Amapiano producer DJ Maphorisa, real name Themba Sekowe has opened up about his return to Afrohouse.
Maphorisa travelled to Kenya, where he performed his first Afrohouse set at Kunye.
In a video shared on his Instagram, the Amapiano king discussed his transition into the genre.
“I was so nervous because it’s been a while. It’s not even been a while because Afro has changed. It’s different compared to the one I used to do with abo Uhuru and others. So yeah, man, I was nervous,” said Maphorisa.
He revealed that he was overthinking many aspects, including which songs to add to his set.
“But yeah, man, at least it went well. I see the reception. Everyone is very lit. I hope you’re going to see more on these Afro stages,” he said.
He also thanked DJ Shimza, the founder of Kunye, for giving him the platform and opportunity to showcase his skills.
Shimza praised Maphorisa and noted that his set was the highlight of the show.
Fans and followers took to the comments section to encourage Maphorisa following his revelation.
@mofasuwa_mufasa commented: “Phori the king. You already deserve a spot in Ibiza with that set.”
@wm.jabez said: “The best set of the night.”
@miss._hally added: “Killed it. Can’t wait another year. Come back soon.”
@_miss_christine remarked: “You did amazing.”
At the beginning of the year, Maphorisa made the bold announcement that he would be shifting his focus from Amapiano to Afrohouse.
Being one of the notable figures to pioneer Amapiano, the announcement left music fans divided, with some stating that the change in direction was part of Maphorisa’s strategy to join the likes of DJ Black Coffee and DJ Shimza in securing more international gigs.
The music producer is a prominent voice in the industry and unapologetically shares his views on the music scene.
Recently, he called for greater unity within the South African music industry, particularly among hip hop artists.
Taking to the social media platform X, he expressed his concerns about the current state of the music scene: “SA hip hop guys need to work together; this camp-camp thing is not working,” he tweeted.
