Ami Faku is Apple Music’s Favorite Artist of the Month

South African artist Ami Faku released what we at OkayAfrica consider one of the best South African albums of the year so far. The Joburg-based singer, who's originally from Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape, released her debut project Imali at the end of September, and fans and fellow musicians haven't stopped singing praises for the artist.

Apple Music recently announced the artist as their favorite artist of the month. The ongoing series aims to highlight "new" artists who the Apple Music team find exciting. Previous South African artists who have been highlighted include Dope Saint Jude, Thandi Ntuli and a few others.

Just like the artists who've been highlighted before, for Ami Faku, the feat comes with placement of editorial support across Apple Music's ecosystem as a "Hero artist" with inclusion on key charts and music playlists.

"Thank you to the Apple Music team for the phenomenal support since the release of my first single, 'Ndikhethe Wena.' It's such an honour to be profiled as the Apple Music New Artist Spotlight for October to coincide with the release of my debut album, Imali," said Ami Faku in a press release.

Ami Faku is one of this year's breakout stars, having scored hits with songs like "Love Drunk," "Ubuhle Bakho," "Ndikhethe Wena" and "Into Ingawe," the latter being a collaboration with house producer Sun-El Musician. For the launch of Imali two weeks ago, Ami Faku went back to her hometown where she performed the album in its entirety for the first time to a sold-out audience at the Boardwalk Amphitheatre in Port Elizabeth.

Stream Imali below and revisit our interview with Ami Faku.