South African rapper Costa Titch dies after collapsing on stage
South African rapper Costa Titch collapsed and died while performing at the Ultra Music Festival at the Expo Centre, in Johannesburg on Saturday night.
He was 27 years old.
Costa Tsobanoglou, better known as Costa Titch, reportedly had a history of epilepsy, a condition that affects the brain and causes seizures.
The musician was reportedly pronounced dead at the venue of the event he was performing at.
Even though the cause of death is yet to be confirmed, there is speculation that he had a seizure possibly triggered by the flashing lights.
In videos making rounds on the internet, the singer fell down during the performance but continued singing after he was picked up by his bodyguard. He however slumped a second time and had to be carried off stage.
The news of Titch’s death was confirmed by entertainment commentator Phil Mphela on his Twitter handle just before midnight and was followed by a string of sad reactions from industry colleagues.
He was a rising artist from Mbombela, in Mpumalanga. His most successful single, Big Flexa, has received over 45 million views on YouTube, and a remix featuring US artist Akon was recently release.
Big Flexa, which was released in December 2021, became the most-viewed Amapiano video in late 2022.
The track features Alfa Kat, Banaba Des, Sdida, Man T and C’buda M. In the song’s music video, the rapper shows off his impeccable dancing skills with Soweto’s Finest, a local dance group.
In East Africa, he had worked with Mbosso and Diamond Platnumz recently.
In 2022 he was among the stars who performed at the SolFest – a concert organized by Sauti Sol.
His death is the latest tragedy to hit the South African music industry. In mid-February, popular rapper Kiernan Forbes, also known as AKA, was fatally shot in Durban.
Musician Rikhado Makhado, known as Riky Rick, was discovered dead from an apparent suicide in February 2022.
AKA was shot outside of a restaurant in Durban by unknown hitmen and the South African Police Service (SAPS) is still investigating the case.
Both Costa Titch and AKA have collaborated on a song called Super Soft.
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