The viral record Mnike, which originated in South Africa, has been ranked as the number one Amapiano rhythm for 2023 on the streaming portal Audiomack. The song, released in April 2023, has nearly 6.5 million streams on the platform alone.
A masterpiece by five different producers, the song became popular via social media as hundreds of users created their own dance video challenges. The official video of the song on YouTube has gathered 35 million views as of January 3, 2024.
Mnike belongs to South African record producer Tyler ICU and singer-songwriter Tumelo_za. The six-minute and 31-second melody features guest appearances from DJ Maphorisa, Nandipha808, Ceeka RSA and Tyron Dee.
It was released under Sony Music Entertainment Africa, with an exclusive licence from New Money Gang Records.
Mnike reportedly reached one million streams two weeks after its release. It reached the number one spot on the Billboard South Africa Songs chart and also appeared on charts in other countries.
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Sang in the Zulu language, the song reached No. 13 in the top international song compiled by Nigeria’s TurnTable Top 100.
It again peaked at No.8 on the UK Afrobeats chart in 2023. The success of this song is not surprising, as superstar Rihanna once named the song one of her favourites during an interview.
Tyler ICU, born Austin Kulani Baloyi, earned a nomination as Best African Act with Mnike at the 2023 MTV Europe Music Awards, which was cancelled by the organisers due to the Isreal-Hamaz war.
Before releasing Mnike, he worked on other songs like We Find Love, Star Matter, Transparent, and many others, but became more prominent with the danceable Mnike.
Other Amapiano songs among the top five on the list are Dalie by Kamo Mphela, Khalil Harrison, and Tyler ICU; Ojapiano by Kcee, Ke Shy by Major Lazer and Major League Djz and Kilimanjaro by Pcee x S’gija Disciples x Zan’Ten.