After DJing in Miami for nearly a decade, including a stint as the resident DJ at Red Rooster’s weekly Afro-Caribbean series, the Shrine, Cameroon-born Leslie “Aya” Ayafor noticed a void in the city’s Afrobeats party scene: Where were the spaces just for African music?
“I wanted to deliver something that was 100 percent African instead of delivering it in doses,” he tells New Times.
His epiphany birthed Stamped, an unapologetically African monthly party at Higher Ground at the Arlo Wynwood. On Sunday, February 18, Stamped celebrates its first anniversary with a lineup that includes Nigerian DJ Obinna “Obi” Levi Ajuonuma and locals CJ “Blink da Link” Greene and Marvin “Milli Marv” Bienne. The night will culminate with Ayafor playing a diasporic mashup of “sounds from the continent,” his sonic trademark embodying Stamped’s connection to community and culture.
Over the last decade, Afrobeats has crossed over from Nigeria to dominate mainstream charts. Nigerian powerhouses like Burna Boy, Wizkid, Davido, Asake, and Tems, who became the first African artist to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100 charts for her sampled vocals on Future’s 2022 hit “Wait For You,” have played a vital role in the genre’s mainstream popularity in the U.S. and the UK. More recently, South Africa’s deep house and kwaito subgenre, amapiano, can be heard thumping out of parties in Miami’s Afrobeats and Caribbean nightlife. A stream of viral TikTok dances and popular South African producers like Uncle Waffles, DBN Gogo, Major League DJz, and Kelvin Momo have helped to export the sound globally. During this year’s Grammy Awards, South African singer Tyla won the inaugural Grammy for “Best African Music Performance” for her 2023 hit song, “Water,” making her the youngest African artist to win at the American music industry award show.
While local DJs usually blend Afrobeats and amapiano with dancehall, hip-hop, reggae, or konpa, a style that intertwines the overlap of music throughout the diaspora, Ayafor wanted to create a space solely centered on African music. Before officially launching Stamped in 2023, he tested the concept at a private event at Hotel Greystone in Miami Beach.
“I went into it thinking it was potentially a concept that was ahead of its time in Miami,” he recalls. “I didn’t have any expectations. I knew it was something that no one else was doing, but I knew that the few people that would show up would appreciate it, but it just so happens a lot of people showed up.”
The event piqued the interest of locals like Fin (who wouldn’t provide New Times with her last name), who noticed the lack of authentic African spaces in South Florida. When Fin, who is of Ethiopian descent, first met Ayafor two years prior at a party in Miami, he was one of the first DJs she heard spin an Afrobeats set since recently moving to South Florida from Maryland. “It was kind of a shock to me,” she remembers.
Although she craved a connection to her community, she says she was hesitant when Ayafor invited her to the private event because of its location. “It was one of those things where I was like, ‘You know what? Maybe my community will be there.’ So I planned in advance to make that drive to South Beach, and I was not disappointed at all,” she adds.
Now that Ayafor proved his brainchild could succeed, he needed to find a home for it. But finding venues that are open to Black event curators in Miami wasn’t that simple. “There’s definitely a stereotype out there associated with Black people that’ll make spaces not want to have us, so for four months, I was trying my best to find a space,” he says.
Stamped, Miami’s unapologetic African experience, connects locals to “sounds from the continent.”
Photo by Andre Dawson
He launched the monthly party at Copal Rooftop in Wynwood before moving it across the street to Higher Ground, located on the third floor of Arlo Wynwood. Despite the location change, the party has blossomed to encompass Miami’s unique ties to Africa. He partners with local African vendors like Liberian food truck Fannoh Flavor and is joined by dancers and Trinidadian drummer Trini Souljah, a former member of the Miami Heat street band who undergirds the pulsating sets from a pair of flaming drumsticks. Emcee and DJ Blink da Link anchors the night alongside Ayafor, a role Blink da Link says came organically.
“From the very first one, I showed up as a friend and colleague, and then I picked up the mic and started emceeing for him during his set, and from there, I’ve been at every Stamped since,” he says. The Jamaican DJ also agrees that amplifying African music connects people from diverse backgrounds: “It allows a space for education. A large quantity of the attendees are West Indian or Caribbean, but we keep it unapologetically African, and I think that opens doors for more collaborations.”
Last summer, Stamped caught the attention of Soulection cofounder and Los Angeles-based DJ Joe Kay, who played an impromptu set after Miami’s inaugural Afro Nation festival. Ayafor eventually enlisted Kay to play an official set during his Miami Art Week edition, which was presented in partnership with Ciroc and event producer Norma Moreno’s Norma Now brand.
Connections at Stamped don’t just manifest behind the DJ booth. Attendees, new or native to South Florida, also bond over their shared culture, whether on the dance floor or through food.
“Parties like Stamped transcend what we see it as. It’s not really just another party for us. It’s a testament to the strength of the African community,” Fin says.
At its one-year mark, Stamped has become one of Miami’s most unique cultural hubs. It’s not tied to a few popular genres seeping out of the continent. It’s a global link-up that unifies culture and music across Africa.
“My goal is to enlighten people on African music,” Ayafor says. “It’s not just amapiano. There are other genres out there that are being played at Stamped. A lot of the songs people have never heard before, but the way music is set up, you don’t need to know what the lyrics are saying as long as the vibe is right, you’re naturally going to move.”
Ayafor plans to take Stamped to other cities, but it’ll always remain a homegrown party redefining the African experience in Miami.
“I want to be remembered for creating that one party that did things differently,” he says. “That was unapologetic about the way they did it, unapologetic about the music they shared, and unapologetic about the culture. It’s a place where people meet and genuine connections happen. It’s not just a party,”
Stamped’s First Anniversary. 5 to 11 p.m. Sunday, February 18, at Higher Ground at Arlo Wynwood, 2217 NW Miami Ct., Miami; highergroundwynwood.com. Tickets are $20 via eventbrite.com.
