Major League Djz and Major Lazer Drop Groundbreaking Amapiano Album, “Piano Republik”

by Michael Ryan · Published March 27, 2023

Featuring collaborations with Ty Dolla $ign, Tiwa Savage and more, "Piano Republik" is the first Major Lazer album in three years.

South African amapiano pioneers Major League Djz have teamed up with Major Lazer for a groundbreaking album, Piano Republik.

The album marks Major Lazer's first full-length in three years and it features collaborations with Ty Dolla $ign, Tiwa Savage, Joeboy, Tyla, Msaki and more. With so many stalwarts featured across Piano Republik, the burgeoning amapiano genre has taken another leap towards the global stage after years of Major League Djz cutting their teeth in South Africa's townships.

"Africa is the center of musical energy for the whole world right now, and amapiano is easily one of the most exciting things happening," said Walshy Fire, frontman of Major Lazer. "It’s blown up all over the continent, but it all started in South Africa, and Major League Djz are in the middle of everything. As soon as we got to experience their movement in real life, we knew we just had to collaborate."

Major League Djz have exploded onto the international dance music scene with their sultry amapiano beats. The genre's proliferation has been unstoppable since around 2012 and it has been furiously bubbling up from the underground, especially after Beatport launched an amapiano category on its online marketplace.

On a mission to "take amapiano to the world," Major League Djz performed a record-breaking 75-hour DJ set in South Africa late last year..

"We wanted to give back to the culture," the duo's Bandile said at the time. "The same way people gave back with me coming up, people like Euphonik, Black Coffee and others, so I have to give back to the culture as well [as] give them a platform to grow."

You can stream Piano Republik here.