On Friday 16 April 2021, DJ Maphorisa went on Twitter with a message of barely ten words, tagging Tyler ICU and signing off with “Banyana EP out now”. Within a year the title track had gone double platinum. It still draws listeners hunting for the song, its mixed version and, often, a free MP3.
| Banyana at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Lead artists | DJ Maphorisa and Tyler ICU |
| Featured on the single | Kabza De Small, Sir Trill, Daliwonga |
| Release | 16 April 2021, on the three-track Banyana EP |
| Label | New Money Gang Records |
| Other EP tracks | Wami, Izolo |
| Certification | Double platinum in South Africa |
| Award nod | TikTok Viral Song of the Year nominee, SAMA 28 (2022) |
How the Banyana EP came together
The release landed on a Friday. Beatport lists the Banyana EP as a New Money Gang Records release dated 16 April 2021, with a credit list that reads like a who's who of amapiano at the time: Kabza De Small, DJ Maphorisa, Daliwonga, Sir Trill, Tyler ICU, Visca, Mpura and Madumane, the rap alter ego Maphorisa uses for his own verses.
Three songs in all. “Wami” and “Izolo” sat alongside the title track, Briefly News reported three days after the drop.
“Izolo” got the first music video. “Banyana” was the one that travelled.
Part of the pull was familiarity. OkayAfrica, picking the song among its best South African releases of April 2021, noted that the hook borrows from Charles Webster's club mix of Michel Cleis's “La Mezcla”, the same sample Kwesta had used on “Mayibabo”, so a lot of listeners already half knew the riff before Maphorisa and Tyler ICU turned it into an amapiano record with five names on the credits.
The pairing also made sense on paper. Maphorisa, born Themba Sekowe in Soshanguve, Pretoria, had already co-produced Drake's “One Dance” and built the Scorpion Kings brand with Kabza De Small. Tyler ICU, real name Austin Khulani Baloyi from Kempton Park, had worked with both men on “Bella Ciao” in 2020.
From the clubs to double platinum
By December, OkayAfrica's year-end amapiano round-up said the Banyana EP was one way Maphorisa “left his mark on 2021”. The single went on to double platinum status, as IOL reported in a 2023 profile of Tyler ICU, and in August 2022 it was one of ten songs nominated for the first TikTok Viral Song of the Year award at the 28th South African Music Awards, a category decided by public vote on the app.
Tyler ICU has explained the instinct behind records like this one. “When it comes to music, I like tapping into the unknown, trying to find new sounds, to mash things together,” he told IOL in May 2023.
That was before “Mnike”, his 2023 smash, sat at number one in South Africa for sixteen straight weeks. “Banyana” was the earlier proof.
It even reached American timelines. In January 2024, Wiz Khalifa posted a video moving to its rhythm. The Sunday Tribune read it as amapiano going global.
Is Banyana about Banyana Banyana?
Football fans searching for the track often assume a link with South Africa's women's national team. We found no statement from Maphorisa, Tyler ICU or SAFA tying the song to the side. Nor any report of it becoming a team anthem.
The connection is in the word. “Banyana” means “girls” in Sesotho, and Banyana Banyana, literally “girls girls”, is the nickname the team carries as a cheer. Desiree Ellis's side won the Women's Africa Cup of Nations in 2022. A year later they reached the World Cup Round of 16. Plenty of headlines, plenty of searches.
For Nigerian readers they are the Super Falcons' fiercest rivals. See how their players are paid in our Banyana Banyana salary guide.
Can you download Banyana MP3?
Yes, legally, though not from us. This page once hosted an unofficial MP3. We have removed it.
The track belongs to its artists and New Money Gang Records. Free downloads on third-party sites pay them nothing.
The simplest route is the official streaming services, where the full Banyana EP sits under DJ Maphorisa and Tyler ICU's artist pages, and most of them let paying subscribers save songs for offline listening, which covers what most people mean by an MP3 download. If you want a file you own outright, the EP is on sale as a digital release on Beatport and other stores that carry the label's catalogue. If you are after “Banyana (Mixed)”, the version blended into a continuous DJ mix, look for it on those same official platforms, not on file-sharing pages. Check that the credit reads DJ Maphorisa and Tyler ICU.
Looking for more songs with a football angle? Try our list of AFCON official songs. Shakira's Waka Waka remains the best known song tied to football on South African soil.
Our view
“Banyana” shows how amapiano spreads: a borrowed house hook, a crowd of vocalists, a Friday drop, then word of mouth. It deserves a page about the record. Not a download button.
This article was most recently revised and updated 57 seconds ago
