SOUTH AFRICAN BREAKOUTS MAJOR LEAGUE DJZ AND MAJOR LAZER UNVEIL “KE SHY” VIDEO

JOY ORBISON REMIX DEBUTS VIA BBC RADIO 1

COLLABORATIVE AMAPIANO ALBUM PIANO REPUBLIK OUT NOW

June 16, 2023—Emerging South African superstars Major League Djz and Major Lazer unveil the video for “Ke Shy” today, shot in South Africa and set in a speakeasy in 1952. Directed by Shala the Unicorn, the video features Tyla, Major League Djz, LuuDaDeejay and Yumbs—watch here.

Additionally, the remix of the track by English producer and DJ Joy Orbison debuted yesterday via Benji B at BBC Radio 1—listen here.

“Ke Shy” is taken from Major League Djz and Major Lazer’s collaborative amapiano album Piano Republik, out now via Mad Decent/Because, featuring Ty Dolla $ign, Channel Tres, Nigerian stars Joeboy and Tiwa Savage, DJ Maphorisa and more—get it here.

“Africa is the center of musical energy for the whole world right now, and amapiano is easily one of the most exciting things happening,” says Walshy Fire of Major Lazer. “It’s blown up all over the continent, but it all started in South Africa, and Major League Djz are in the middle of everything. As soon as we got to experience their movement in real life, we knew we just had to collaborate.”

The music on Piano Republik falls under the genre of amapiano, a South African style of house music that emerged in 2012 and is descended from the South African house genre kwaito and Afrobeats. Pioneered largely by Major League Djz, amapiano is a hybrid of deep house, jazz and lounge music characterized by synths, airy pads and wide percussive basslines and is currently topping charts in the U.K. and beyond.

The BET-nominated amapiano duo Major League Djz—twin brothers Bandile and Banele Mbere—have quickly risen to international visibility as stars of the South African dance music scene, serving as pioneers of the genre and de facto global ambassadors with hits like “Bakwa Lah” and “Dinaledi.” Since the release of their critically acclaimed album from 2021, Outside, they have gone on to break the world record for the longest DJ set performed by a duo, performing for 75 hours for a special edition of their Balcony Mix Xperience. Last year, they performed at Coachella alongside Black Coffee and sold-out a headline show at the O2 Academy Brixton. This summer, Major League Djz will be the first amapiano act to debut a massive London residency at new venue HERE at Outernet, playing and curating exciting lineups every Saturday in June. With fans and supporters including TEMS, Burna Boy, Honey Dijon, Jorja Smith, Rema, Asake, Stefflon Don and Jayda G regularly attending their parties in South Africa, Ghana and beyond, they're now poised to take the world by storm.

Major Lazer is the global dance trio of Diplo, Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. Named for the group’s fictional figurehead, a one-armed Jamaican Zombie War commando, Major Lazer’s mission is to free the universe with music. The band has released four acclaimed albums, 2009’s Guns Don’t Kill People…Lazers Do, 2013’s Free The Universe, 2015’s Peace Is The Mission, featuring the Diamond-certified “Lean On” with DJ Snake and MØ—one of the most successful songs of all time—and 2020’s Music Is The Weapon, which features songs in five languages and collaborations with Nicki Minaj, J Balvin, Marcus Mumford, Khalid, Alessia Cara, Anitta, Paloma Mami, Busy Signal, BEAM, Shenseea, Nucleya and more.

For more information, please contact Reid Kutrow, Ethan Jacobs or Carla Sacks at Sacks & Co., 212.741.1000.

MAJOR LEAGUE DJZ & MAJOR LAZER—PIANO REPUBLIK
1. Smoking & Drinking feat. Ty Dolla $ign
2. Ke Shy feat. Tyla & LuuDaDeejay
3. Ngibambe feat. Gaba Cannal & Russell Zuma
4. Designer feat. Joeboy
5. Koo Koo Fun feat. Tiwa Savage & DJ Maphorisa
6. Mamgobhozi feat. Brenda Fassie
7. Oh Yeah feat. Ty Dolla $ign
8. Stop & Go feat. Msaki
9. Higher Ground ft. Boniface

MAJOR LAZER LIVE
June 30 /// Torino, IT /// Kappa Futur Festival*
July 16 /// Las Vegas, CA /// EBC at Night
August 12 /// Saalburg-Ebersdorf, DE /// SonneMondeSterne Festival
September 3 /// New York, NY /// Electric Zoo
September 13 /// Los Angeles, CA /// Palladium
September 23 /// Sacramento, CA /// Railyards
September 30 /// San Francisco, CA /// Portola*
November 30 /// Las Vegas, NV /// AWS re: PLAY

* b2b with Major League Djz