When Leonard Malatji and Mano Nephawe—better known as the amapiano duo Mapara A Jazz—started making music in 2007, they could not foresee their status as ambassadors of a growing global scene. Back then, they were called MaBen10, a reference to their young age at the time (Leonard was 19, Mano two years younger). They produced Bacardi house music, a genre popular around their home of Tshwane. Mapara A Jazz transitioned to amapiano in 2012, performing for hyper-local audiences in taverns and at community events while slinging mixtapes on the side. In 2020, they scored their first big hit, “John Vuli Gate”, a paragon of amapiano replete with easy-to-memorise lyrics and an infectious beat carried by the log drum and jazzy chords. On the album of the same name, Mapara A Jazz fuse sounds from disparate scenes—gospel and bolobedu house on the uplifting "Right Here"; lezenke and Bacardi house on "Dlala kale rapo"—to create an outstanding and wide-ranging body of work.