Nandipha808

• No Vocal Album [Stena Academy, 2025] A
• Who Made Who [Stena Academy, 2026] B+

Consumer Guide Reviews:

No Vocal Album [Stena Academy, 2025]
Without claiming anything approaching full comprehension of the polyrhythmic southern South African dance/beat music dubbed amapiano, I hear this iteration as spare and arguably even abstract but by no means therefore subtle much less backgroundy. For me it's just two burned, unannotated CDs my editor sent me that we keep playing around here—good wakeup material for sure, and that applies at four in the afternoon as well as eight in the morning. It's chanted much more than sung, with echo effects part of the deal. Phelimuncasi fans will get the idea soon enough. Indestructible Beat of Soweto fans should bear in mind that few if any would call these tracks songs and also that while they presumably have their fans in Soweto those fans are a long way from their home albeit a lot further from yours. Imposing, unrelenting, and not really what I'd call fun, I've heard fewer more impressive albums in recent memory. A

Who Made Who [Stena Academy, 2026]
Subscriber-only review. B+