Amapiano sensation Aymos's musical journey dates back to forming his local school choir at the age of 17. 

Real name Babili Amos Shili, he has made a name for himself through hit songs such as Zaka and eMcimbini featuring Kabza De Small, DJ Maphorisa, Mas Musiq, Major League DJz, Josiah De Disciple and DBN Gogo. 

But before the limelight, he honed his singing skills at church, although his dream growing up was to become a nurse like his mother.

“My mom was a nurse and she would take me with her to her night shifts because there wasn’t anyone to babysit me… so, I basically grew up at the hospital. I remember starting to get used to the hospital environment that I ended up envying the staff who worked there,” Aymos said.

“I loved seeing how people would walk into the hospital and come out feeling better. The determination the staff had to make people recover to good health sparked an admirable spirit within me that made me believe that I would also work as a nurse when I grew up… but that didn’t happen.”  

The Tembisa-born star, because of his church influences, realised the power of song early in his life. “I needed a reason to go to church and for me, it was music. I became the lead singer at church and learnt all that I could when it came to music composition and choir directing,” he said.   

“I then decided to start a choir at my Norkem Park High School because in the history of the school we never had any. As the choir grew, people from my area started to know my name. Someone who realised that I had a special gift advised me that I needed to go into the studio and affiliate myself as a vocalist for music producers around the neighbourhood.”

The 27-year-old started carving his way by becoming as session musician. “This is a time in my life where I met Mas Musiq who later introduced me to DJ Maphorisa," Aymos  said.

Aymos later released a collaborative album with Mas Musiq titled Shonamalanga. The record was nominated last year at the South African Music Awards (Samas) for Best Amapiano Album and Best Duo/Group of the Year.

“Working with Maphorisa for the first time was a dream… he can be quite intimidating because all you want to do is impress him based on the world of musical knowledge he has but luckily he’s given me room to be myself and be creative freely," he said.

As he positions himself in the industry, Aymos highlights the importance of making the right moves and maintaining a good image.  

“I am disciplined and quite aware of how I conduct myself to the public. I always try my best to have a clean image… I never want to find myself in any drama or trending for silly reasons. Plus, as a believer, there are so many people I don’t want to disappoint,” he said.

Aymos is set to drop his new song Mama on Friday. It is an ode to his mother who has been an inspiration to him. He hopes his fans will resonate with the song the same way he does. “Our mothers do a lot for us, and this song is a reminder of the great women that they are to us.”   

seemelam@arena.africa