After a brief hiatus, Jaydon Lewis returns and makes his official debut in Amapiano with “don’t you see freestyle” featuring the vocals of Miraa May. In previous years and as a teenager, Jaydon made a name for himself in trap with his bootleg remixes garnering him hundreds of millions of streams and name recognition. Despite that, he made a transition into House and Afrobeat where his inventive production style shined through leading to “Runaway”, “different”, and “good company”, with the latter becoming a sleeper hit in his home nation.
Following “good company”, Jaydon went on a multi-year break where he took time to ideate his new sound and embraced Amapiano, a sound that has been at the forefront of South African music before it became global and a revelation to the current dance music landscape. Jaydon’s contributions have seen him bring bootleg remixes to his TikTok, including his take on Rhannna’s “Kiss It Better” which went on to be a global viral sensation scoring him hundreds of millions of plays and recognition in the genre.
Today, he marks his official release in Amapiano and brings us an exquisite song with Universal UK’s Miraa May who lays down a one-take freestyle in English and Arabic. “don’t you see freestyle” is the first Amapiano track to receive a legitimate release to feature non-English or non-South African dialect. Never before has Amapiano gone truly cross-cultural until now. Jaydon’s production unveils a poignancy that flutters in hand with the jilted lover at the heart of Miraa’s lyricism. Each element of the track fulfills its duty to create emotional electricity, something that is oftentimes lost in today’s music landscape obsessed with chasing social virality.
One production element that may go unnoticed is the lack of a shaker, the typical earmark for any Amapiano song. Jaydon’s decision to not include it highlights his production chops and why he had been lauded as a producer on the rise whenever he releases his originals. It also shows that he is a part of the new generation of Amapiano producers that are willing to evolve the genre and bring something fresh, something that Jaydon is more than capable of and achieved here.
While Amapiano continues its global rise, Jaydon Lewis positions himself as to be the South African export to lead the charge as the face of the new, younger generation on the scene. His debut with Miraa May is nothing short of brilliant and increases anticipation to see what’s next from him. Keep an eye on Jaydon and I’m sure it’ll be worth it.
To stream “don’t you see freestyle”, follow the link here or scroll down.