SA: Amapiano artists Mpura and Killer Kau dies in car crash

Early reports from the incident claimed another of the scene’s brightest stars, Kabza De Small, had also been killed, but the artist took to Twitter to confirm this was inaccurate.

According to Times Live, in total six people died in the head-on collision, including emerging artists Khanya “The Voice” Hadebe, DJ Thando Tot, and TD. Since the news broke tributes have been pouring in from the Amapiano and global music communities.

Kau, real name Sakhile Hlatshwayo, rose to prominence when a video of him performing was discovered by DJ Euphoric after going viral on Twitter. His debut single, ‘Thol’ Ukuthi Hey’, went on to become a huge hit in South Africa, while the albums ‘Game Changer’ and ‘After School’ also received widespread acclaim. He had been working on a third LP, ‘Amaneighbour’.

Mpura had been involved in a number of releases, with 2020’s Busta 929 collaboration, ‘Umsebenzi Wethu’, a watershed moment in his career.