Costa Titch died on stage at an event in Johannesburg, Gauteng, on Saturday night. He was 27.
Costa Titch dies: What’s the cause of death?
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The Big Flexa rapper was one of the headliners at this year’s instalment of Ultra Music Festival, which took place over two days in Cape Town and Johannesburg between 10 and 11 March 2023.
Details around Titch’s death remain sketchy, but fans who were locked in on his electric performance captured footage of the gory moment he collapsed and died.
It is still unclear what the cause of death was. However, speculation is rife about how the event’s strobe lights may have triggered the rapper’s epilepsy.
This, and more details about the untimely death of Costa Titch, have yet to be confirmed.
This is a developing story.
Costa Titch biography
Costa Titch, born Costa Tsobanoglou, was a South African rapper who hailed from Mbombela, Mpumalanga.
In the eyes of his massive teenage fanbase, Titch was the epitome of a true South African.
Somewhere along the way in his adolescence, Titch moved to Johannesburg, to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. His low centre of gravity earned him a great advantage as a Hip-Hop dancer and his intelligence made it easy for him to acclimate to the cadence of IsiZulu slang.
The exposure he received from dancing was the catalyst that drove his instant success when, in 2020, he dropped his debut album, Made In Africa, which featured appearances from industry heavyweights such as Sjava, DJ Maphorisa, the late Riky Rick, and recently murdered AKA.
Titch, a devoted student of the game, clung to his acquaintance with Supamega. He wanted to learn everything about the game from the lens of a man who had seen and done it all.
The budding artistic relationship between AKA and Costa Titch birthed You’re Welcome, their 2021 collab project that featured chart-topping hits like Monate C and Big Deal.
Titch maintained his consistency and, in 2022, dropped off his second solo project, Mr Big Flexa, the title track of which attracted the attention of global superstar Akon.
The Locked Up crooner was a big fan of Titch, so much so, he hopped on the Big Flexa remix and showed up as a surprise guest at his 2023 Cotton Fest set.
Shortly before his untimely death, Titch had entered into a partnership with Akon’s label, Konvict Kulture. Speaking on the deal, Titch said at the time:
“I’ve always wanted to remain independent and instead of signing to a major label, I’ve always wanted to partner with one.
“After the success of my 2022 catalogue, we felt it was time to partner with a global entity so we can continue to push the barriers on an international scale.”
Fan reactions to Titch’s death
South Africa’s entertainment industry has been reeling in epic losses recently.
Right when the country was coming to terms with the deaths of AKA, Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane, Vusi Ma R5, DJ Sumbody, DJ Citi Lyts and Riky Rick, who all died within a span of a year, Titch’s untimely passing pulled fans back into what feels like perpetual grief.
Here are some of the reactions to the death of Costa Titch:
