Amapiano's log drum is a short, punchy hit played in notes – the drum and the bass line at once. It began as an FL Studio synth preset called “Log Drum”, and by 2024 it was on a Grammy winner.
The bass doesn't sit under the beat. It is the beat.
Facts
- Amapiano – Zulu for “the pianos” – grew in the townships of South Africa's Gauteng province in the 2010s. Whether it began around Johannesburg or Pretoria is debated, and accounts of its start range from 2012 to the mid-2010s.
- It draws on kwaito, 90s deep house, jazz and Pretoria's bacardi house, and usually runs at about 110–115 BPM – slower than typical house. South African DJs push back when it is sped up towards 120 abroad: “the aim is not to sweat”.
- Its trademark is the log drum: a short, punchy percussive hit played in notes, so one sound carries the rhythm and the bass line at once.
- There is no log: the sound began as the “Log Drum” preset of Fruity DX10, the light FM synth built into FL Studio. Kabza De Small credits producer MDU aka TRP with bringing it in; in September 2023 DJ Maphorisa pledged MDU R100,000 as thanks and said Kabza would send the same.
- Log drums went global: Tyla's “Water”, which blends pop and R&B with amapiano's log drums, won the first Grammy for Best African Music Performance in 2024.
Sources
- Red Bull: How amapiano took over the world (Themba Kriger, 2024) · Red Bull checked 7 October 2026
- Billboard: 8 things to know about South Africa's amapiano genre – a local's guide to the scene (Setumo-Thebe Mohlomi, 2021) · Billboard checked 7 October 2026
- CNN: How amapiano, South Africa's soulful sound, has become one of the hottest new music genres (Daryl Brown, 2022) · CNN checked 7 October 2026
- TimesLIVE / Sunday Times: Amapiano – a township sound with staying power (Setumo-Thebe Mohlomi, 2019) · TimesLIVE checked 7 October 2026
- OkayAfrica: Bacardi house-tinged amapiano is setting the streets ablaze (Madzadza Miya, 2022) · OkayAfrica checked 7 October 2026
- Native Instruments Blog: What is amapiano music? Its history and how to make it (Tim Cant, 2025) · Native Instruments checked 7 October 2026
- Spotify For the Record: Charting the meteoric rise of South Africa's AmaPiano (2019) · Spotify checked 7 October 2026
- Splice: What is amapiano music? An in-depth guide with Kooldrink (Harrison Shimazu, 2025) · Splice checked 7 October 2026
- Mixmag: Amapiano's second wave – how kwaito opened the door for amapiano's evolutions (Jake Colvin, 2024) · Mixmag checked 7 October 2026
- Mixmag: Amapiano's second wave – how innovations emerge from Black South African culture (Jake Colvin, 2024) · Mixmag checked 7 October 2026
- Image-Line: FL Studio manual – Fruity DX10 · Image-Line checked 7 October 2026
- The South African: Kabza De Small and MDU aka TRP set to release 50-track album (Naledi de Wee, 2021) · The South African checked 7 October 2026
- Mixmag: Amapiano DJs pledge money to the creator of the log drum, Mdu aka TRP (Gemma Ross, 2023) · Mixmag checked 7 October 2026
- Kaya 959: DJ Maphorisa donates R100k to Mdu aka TRP and calls on piano artists to do the same (Katlego Sekhu, 2023) · Kaya 959 checked 7 October 2026
- GRAMMY.com: Tyla won the inaugural Best African Music Performance category at the 2024 GRAMMYs (Tiléwa Kazeem, 2024) · GRAMMY.com checked 7 October 2026
- Wikipedia: Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance · Wikipedia checked 7 October 2026
- Wikipedia: Amapiano · Wikipedia checked 7 October 2026
All sound is original: synthesised for the episode, no samples, no licensed tracks. The narrator’s voice is AI-generated. General information. Features differ by software, player and version – check your own manual. Read how facts are checked and corrected.
Script
A South African township. The bass is a drum. This is amapiano, Zulu for “the pianos”. Kwaito, deep house and jazz, about 110 to 115 BPM. Its trademark: the log drum, a short, punchy hit played in notes. So one sound is the drum and the bass line at once. And there's no log. It began as an FL Studio preset called “Log Drum”. Producer MDU aka TRP is often credited: in 2023, DJ Maphorisa pledged him R100,000. By 2024, log drums were on a Grammy winner: Tyla's “Water”. The bass doesn't sit under the beat. It is the beat.
Sources last checked 7 October 2026.