What is 3-Step?

3-Step is a South African electronic house music genre, pioneered by producers such as Thakzin and Dlala Thukzin during the early 2020s, defined by a distinct rhythm featuring three main kicks per phrase, blending Afro-house, Amapiano, and Broken Beat. Known for its soulful, "spiritual" feel, it uses sparse percussion, long-gliding log drums, and jazzy melodies to create a deep, infectious dance-floor vibe.

Prominent artists/producers

Dlala Thukzin

Zee Nxumalo

JAZZWRLD & Thukuthela

MaWhoo

Thakzin

afrobeats

Late 2010s - Early 2020s

3-Step is the hottest genre out there

Ah so these type of beats were called 3 Step. Not really on my radar most of the time but I do recognize that pattern of style

it usually has 2 patterns:

• 1,2,3,(space for anything, could be 2 claps or percurssions)

• 1,(space for anything, could be 2 claps or percurssions),1,2

Very dope sub-genre

Very nice

i'll keep updating the thread when i have time

i'd say its the future

The log drums are so fire bro

Thank you for putting us on ima save these and get back

This one man

YABA YABA YABA YEEEEH

This one being saved fosho

Imma have to steal sum of this log drum sauce, I never that's what they were called

It's pretty easy to distinguish if you actually listen to the other genres

Amapiano - usually has a common pattern with piano keys, hence the name (eg: kabza de small)

Gqom - leans more towards afro tech and its usually more aggressive (feels more like the predecessor of 3 step)

sounds like a natural progression from amapiano, I f*** with it

Ngl this is pretty boring

I was wrong this is amazing in any setting

What happened

Gqom

Saw Dlala Thukzin 2 weeks ago

Life changing, gqom on top

south africans are so amazing when they're not spewing xenophobia

Got drunk af and listened to Dlala’s album at a rooftop bar

That sounds awesome..

EXACTLY, YOU GET IT