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By Viranova Awards DeskMusic

Summary
  • This story matters because 3-Step is moving beyond local dancefloor momentum. JAZZWRLD and Thukuthela’s BET Awards presence shows how South African producers and vocalists are now carrying township-rooted dance music into...
  • JAZZWRLD and Thukuthela did not need a BET nomination for the moment to matter. Their presence in Los Angeles showed that 3-Step is moving into global media rooms while keeping its South African centre.
  • JAZZWRLD and Thukuthela’s BET Awards presence was not about collecting a trophy. It was about 3-Step becoming visible in global media rooms while carrying its South African centre with it.
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The rise of 3-Step—the South African Afro-house hybrid built around a distinct three-kick groove and shaped by amapiano, Afro-tech and broken-beat influences—is no longer only a local dancefloor conversation. It is now being carried by artists who can move from township-rooted hits to global media rooms without losing the sound’s South African centre.

At the heart of the current wave are Lesotho-born, South Africa-raised producer JAZZWRLD, born Kamohelo Monese, and Daveyton vocalist Thukuthela, born Kgotso Dube. Their 2025 run helped define South African dance music through records such as Ciza’s “Isaka (6am),” Oscar Mbo’s “Vuka,” and collaborations with MaWhoo and GL_Ceejay. That momentum followed them into the 2026 BET Awards ecosystem in Los Angeles, where they attended the ceremony, appeared on the red carpet and did media at BET Media House, despite not being nominees.

The point is not that they collected a BET trophy. The point is that their presence makes the global room more visibly South African. 3-Step is proving it can travel as a cultural language: soulful, minimal, percussive and spacious enough to speak to local memory while sitting comfortably inside international house music spaces.

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jazzwrldthukuthelabet awards 20263-stepafro housesouth african musickamohelo monesekgotso dubeisaka 6amvukamawhoogl_ceejay
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