Official 2025 release photograph: Bab'Motha — Apple Music
Amapiano producer and DJ
Kabelo Petrus Motha, born in eMalahleni in 1992 and based in Pretoria, starts DJing in 2009 and releases a first album, Avenue Sound, in 2016. It is "Umshove" (2018), with vocalist Leehleza, that fixes him at the centre of amapiano, the log-drum-driven house offshoot he helps define. As Kabza De Small he records at a pace few in the genre can match, across solo albums, joint projects and a long run of singles.
By 2020 he is South Africa's most-streamed artist on Spotify, and I Am the King of Amapiano: Sweet & Dust goes double platinum. He holds thirteen South African Music Awards, runs the Piano Hub label, and forms the Scorpion Kings with DJ Maphorisa. His 2024 Red Bull Symphonic concert sells out in five hours; Bab' Motha (2025) becomes his first album to chart globally, and in 2026 he launches a second label, Tech Hub.
Thatohatsi’s rise is not built on one isolated hit. Her breakthrough is the result of recurring collaborations that have made her voice increasingly recognisable across amapiano’s most successful chart networks.
SAMA32’s shortlist shows a South African music industry no longer defined by one centre. From Durban Gqom to Maskandi, Amapiano, Jazz, Gospel and regional scenes, the country’s sound is spreading power across many hubs.
Scorpion Kings Live at FNB Stadium is no longer just a concert. With huge demand, an extra ticket release and a stadium-scale crowd expected, it proves that Amapiano has become live-entertainment infrastructure.
Shazam does not only show what people play. It shows what interrupts them. South Africa’s city-level Shazam data reveals hidden listening rooms where local songs move before the playlist machine fully catches up.
Kabza De Small headlines the 2026 edition of Galaxy 947 Joburg Day, gates from 09:00. The first 2 000 tickets sold include preferential parking. The Chill Zone is an 18+ area.
Sun-El Musician is on the announced line-up for 947 Joburg Day at Crocodile Creek Polo Club in Lanseria. Gates 09:00; the first 2 000 tickets include preferential parking.
Kabza De Small leads the line-up for the third edition of the food, fashion and music festival, themed 'Evophoria', running 26–27 September. He is billed for the Sunday as one half of the Scorpion Kings with DJ Maphorisa, on a day skewed toward house and amapiano. Gates 12:00 to 23:00, 18+.
