Video footage captures the heartbreaking moment when South African rap sensation Costa Titch tragically collapsed on stage during his performance at a music festival. Regrettably, he passed away shortly after the incident, as confirmed in an Instagram post by his family.
The somber episode unfolded at the Ultra music festival in Johannesburg on Saturday, where Titch was delivering his performance before collapsing, prompting swift action from the event staff. He was lifted up and appeared to return to his feet for a few seconds before appearing to fall again and collapsing off the stage.
A spokesman for the event said: “Ultra South Africa is devastated by this sudden loss of an artist who was a galvanizing voice amongst South Africa’s amapiano scene. Known for his dance-infused amapiano music, Titch was also a talented rapper, singer, songwriter, collaborator and friend to the festival.”
The amapiano genre is a hybrid of deep house, jazz and lounge music with percussive, log-drum driven basslines and soulful piano melodies. It emerged in South Africa over the last decade and has quickly gained popularity, drawing on the country’s diverse cultures and Indigenous languages to blend hip-hop with international genres.
He was one of the top stars in the amapiano genre and teamed up with Akon’s Konvict Kulture label. His track Big Flexa was the most-viewed amapiano song on YouTube.
Born in Nelspruit, Titch grew up in a multi-cultural family, with his Greek father and South African mother. He started rapping at a young age and soon became popular on social media platforms like Tiktok and Instagram.
