There is no denying that Asake and Olamide’s “Amapiano” is a smash hit. It hailed the “super-catchiness” of the South African genre at a time when the industry was already knee-deep in the vibe.
Yes, we envisioned the song breaking through the African market – it’s Asake we’re talking about here. Yes, we expected it to transcend the African market into more “unusual” territories.
But what we never expected was a group of young Italian adults remixing the song…in Italian!
Enter Dallas Carter, a young Italian TikToker, who injected a dose of Italian flair into the song, creating an Amapiano rendition that resonates rather soundly.
“Amapiano, ti amo
Porto big vibes
Facciamo show
Credimi, credimi, credimi, them credimi,” he sings, which in English means:
“Amapiano, I love you
I bring big vibes
We do shows
Believe me, believe me, believe me, they believe me.
Carter’s TikTok feed, dedicated to ‘Italicizing’ Nigerian hits under the banner “4DACULTURE,” features inventive remixes of tracks like Tiwa Savage and Asake’s “Loaded,” Zinoleesky and Buju’s “Kilometre,” Wizkid’s “Joro,” and Davido’s “Focalistic.”
But there’s no denying that the remixes are…good. Infusing Italian pop and Amapiano isn’t an easy task, but he somehow manages to make it work.
The response to Carter’s remixes, particularly the Italian rendition of “Ololade mi Asake,” has been overwhelmingly positive, contrasting the gatekeeping reactions previously seen with Afrobeats’ international explorations.
There were even calls for a potential collaboration with Asake to further bridge cultural divides.
If and when that happens, we’d be sitting here for it.