London meets the log drum: Uncle Waffles leads the amapiano wave
Swazi-born DJ Uncle Waffles is turning London scenes and stages into South African dance floors, proving that amapiano is the beat everyone needs to know.
In this article, Music News Blitz’s Lindokuhle Mlombo takes us through Uncle Waffles’ career and the impact she has had on amapiano and the global music industry.
The rise of amapiano
In less than a decade, amapiano has gone from township innovation to global sensation.
Amapiano emerged in South Africa around 2012, the sound blended deep house, kwaito, and jazz elements, creating a harmonic mix marked by lush keys, airy pads, and its signature log drum bassline.
What began as a regional subculture in the townships of Johannesburg quickly spread across the country, soundtracking parties, taxis, and street corners.
As the genre grew, social media became its loudest amplifier and form of growth.
From dance challenges, DJ snippets, and casual party clips shared around TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter, which is now known as X, making amapiano one of the most recognisable African sounds online.
While afrobeats has long been the continent’s global calling card, amapiano brought something different - something minimalist yet infectious, fun, creative and rooted in improvisation yet easily adaptable.
Uncle Waffles’ breakthrough
At the centre of amapiano’s international rise is Lungelihle Zwane, better known as Uncle Waffles.
Born in Eswatini (Swaziland) and based in South Africa, her journey to stardom has been anything but ordinary.
In 2021, a video of her effortlessly DJing and dancing behind the decks went viral, gathering millions of views within days.
From there, the world took notice, and not just of her mixing skills but of her commanding stage presence and energy.
That viral moment was a turning point for her. Within months, Uncle Waffles was booked on lineups across South Africa, then across Africa, and soon after the world.
She became a symbol of amapiano’s rise not just as a DJ but as an ambassador of the amapiano culture.
Drake co-signs, Rolling Loud appearances, and international tours followed, but perhaps no stage has embraced her more enthusiastically than the United Kingdom (UK), where she recently hosted big sold-out concerts.
UK: The second home of amapiano
The UK has always had a taste for African rhythms.
The rise of afrobeats in the 2010s reshaped its club culture with artists like Wizkid and Burna Boy becoming household names.
Layer that history onto UK’s own legacy of garage, grime, and house and the country was primed for amapiano’s arrival. Especially in London.
When Uncle Waffles brought amapiano to London stages, the reaction was immediate.
Tickets sold out, venues filled with both African diaspora and curious locals, and social media was flooded with clips of Londoners chanting to beats once only heard in South African townships.
By 2023, she was no longer a guest but a fixture in the UK’s nightlife circuit.
Amapiano nights became regular events in London’s social clubs and dance floors, where DJs fused the sound with UK drill, garage, and even Caribbean Soca.
Uncle Waffles, however, stood out. She was not just playing sets. Instead, she was transforming spaces and creating a distinctly South African atmosphere in the heart of London.
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More than a DJ - an ambassador
What makes Uncle Waffles unique is not just her technical skill but her ability to embody the spirit of amapiano.
On stage, she does not just mix tracks. She dances, engages, and becomes part of the crowd.
Her charisma turns sets into communal celebrations, a trait that has made her an icon not only in South Africa but across continents, as she even performed at Coachella earlier in the year.
Her influence has extended beyond the booth. Streaming platforms report spikes in amapiano streams after her performances, and UK festivals increasingly feature amapiano acts alongside afrobeats and electronic artists.
For many in the UK, Uncle Waffles has been the entry point into a genre that might otherwise have remained underground.
By placing herself at the intersection of performance, culture and digital virality, Uncle Waffles has become more than a DJ.
She is a bridge carrying a piece of South African identity across borders.
Amapiano’s global future
Uncle Waffles is not alone in this journey. South African pioneers like Kabza De Small and DJ Maphorisa laid the groundwork by producing the tracks that shaped the genre and gave DJs material to push internationally.
Together, these artists have ensured that amapiano is not just a trend but a growing global movement.
In the UK, amapiano has already secured its place, and with artists like Uncle Waffles leading the charge, its influence is only set to grow.
Already, UK producers and artists such as Jorja Smith are experimenting with amapiano-influenced beats, hinting that it could follow in afrobeats’ footsteps as a permanent fixture of global pop.
There are even events dedicated to the genre, such as the “Piano People” event.
Its reception in the country has been nothing short of amazing, as in 2022, BBC News Africa even curated a documentary dedicated to the genre, which now, in 2025, has over a million views.
Uncle Waffles represents the new era of DJs as she is part performer, part cultural icon and part digital influencer.
Her rise shows how local genres can cross borders in the age of TikTok and streaming, and how one artist can embody an entire movement.
Why it matters
Amapiano’s rise in the UK is not just a music story, but it is a cultural story.
It speaks to the power and role of social media in global music circulation and the way African genres are no longer confined to “world music” niches but are shaping mainstream nightlife.
Uncle Waffles embodies this shift.
Her success shows that amapiano is not a passing wave but a tide that continues to rise, carrying with it its stories of South Africa, its rhythms and its creativity.
For Londoners swaying to the log drum at 2am, it may just feel like a party. But for Uncle Waffles and for amapiano, it is history in the making.
TikTok challenges and global reach
Uncle Waffles’ energy does not stop at the club or the different festivals she performs at.
On TikTok, her dance moves have inspired viral challenges that spread amapiano far beyond Africa.
Millions of users copy her routines, turning her sets into cultural moments online and introducing the log drum to audiences who may never have stepped onto a South African dance floor.
Below are some of her viral TikTok challenges:
The Zenzele dance challenge (recent):
Baphi Dance challenge:
Yahyapyah dance challenge:
UYAH dance challenge:
