Tokollo ‘Magesh’ Tshabalala, renowned in South Africa’s entertainment industry as one-third of the iconic Kwaito group, TKZee, passed away at the age of 45.
Tokollo ‘Magesh’ Tshabalala dies: What’s the cause of death?
News of the Kwaito legend’s passing sent shockwaves across social media. According to reports, the 45-year-old hitmaker’s lifeless body was discovered at his home on Monday morning.
Details around Magesh’s cause of death remain unclear at this time. According to a family member who spoke to City Press in anonymity, “no visible injuries can be seen on his body, he was just lying in bed.”
Tshabalala’s body was transported to a forensic pathology lab for further testing to determine the cause of death. His family, however, believes his untimely passing could be linked to his lifelong battle with epilepsy.
While this may be plausible, according to WebMD, death from epilepsy is rare, with a kill ratio of 1 per 1 000 people.
Tokollo ‘Magesh’ Tshabalala biography
Tokollo ‘Magesh’ Tshabalala was born on 14 October 1976, the year of the historic Soweto Uprising. Growing up in the gritty streets of Johannesburg, Magesh led a group of pioneers who turned to music as an escape from the reality of segregation and rampant poverty.
In 1994, at the dawn of democracy in South Africa, and at the age of 18, Magesh and his mates, Kabelo Mabalane and Zwai Bala, released their debut album Halloween under the TKZee banner.
It was the album South Africans turned to; to fully express the buzzing atmosphere at the time. Halloween was the soundtrack to South Africa’s new age, and this translated in the album’s sales,
The album became one of the highest-selling bodies of work in South Africa, with more than 200 000 copies sold that year. Magesh and his crew also did a sweeping at the inaugural South African Music Awards, winning four categories, including Best Kwaito Album, Best Duo/Group, Best Single and Best Kwaito Single.
Magesh and his TKZee mates rose to the pinnacle of fame in 1998 when the group released the iconic 1998 FIFA World Cup homage, Shibobo, featuring Benni McCarthy.
Tokollo has one studio album to his discography, The Longest Time, but in Kwaito, he will long be revered as the coolest persona whose catch phrases shaped urban culture in the late 90s to early 2000s.
Reactions to the death of ‘Magesh’
The news of Magesh’s untimely passing sent shockwaves across social media. The Kwaito icon’s family had not released an official statement at the time this article was published.
Here are some of the reactions to Tokollo’s passing: