Kabza De Small
Life and career
Kabelo Motha was born in Mpumalanga, South Africa, and was raised in Pretoria. Motha began his career as a DJ in 2009, venturing in the genres: Afro-fused house and EDM. In 2016, he made his production credits by releasing his debut album, Avenue Sounds under the label, House Afrika Records. In November 2018, he gained attention by releasing songs, "Amabele Shaya" and "Umshove", respectively, featuring guest vocals by the amapiano counterpart, Leehleza. Following both songs, he continued his collaboration with Leehleza as he released the song "Bamba La", on 3 January 2019.Scorpion Kings, Motha's collaborative studio album with record producer DJ Maphorisa, was released on 5 July 2019, supported by the lead single, "Koko". The album was certified diamond in South Africa, with over 100, 000 units sold. On 1 October 2019, they released their sophomore studio album, Piano Hub, which was supported by the single, "Nana Thula", featuring guest vocals by Njelic. On 18 October 2019, Motha released his second studio album, Pretty Girls Love Amapiano. In continuing his collaboration with DJ Maphorisa, they released their third studio album, The Return of Scorpion Kings, on 29 November 2019.
On 4 April 2020 during the COVID-19 national lockdown period, he released an EP titled Pretty Girls Love Amapiano 2. He Released His Solo Album titled I Am The King Of Amapiano: Sweet & Dust On the 26th of June. The album featured both South African & international acts such as Burna Boy, Wizkid, Cassper Nyovest, Daliwonga, Madumane, DJ Maphorisa, Samthing Soweto, Shasha, Mlindo, Bontle Smith.
Impact and achievements
Motha is often referred to as the "King of Amapiano". He is considered as one of the best-selling music artist of amapiano, and also one of the pioneers of the genre. With his breakthrough in 2018, he played an instrumental role in popularizing the amapiano genre. On 3 December 2019, Spotify South Africa, named Motha as the most-streamed South African artist in the platform for 2019.Emergence of Amapiano and dominance
On the emergence of the Amapiano wave, Kabza had this to say “I had the honour to have collaborated with the likes of MRF Souls, Gaba Canal, Afrosoul Sax, Josiah, Kopzz Avenue, Tribe Franko, and many more artists in this new genre called Amapiano.” “Many people seemed to have loved the Amapiano sounds which I breathed into the music industry,” he said.Controversy
The king of Amapiano Kabza De Small Instagram account has been hacked 5 times, the 5th time came at the eve of his new album I am The King Of Amapiano: Sweet & Dust, where hackers hijacked his account in order to release his album.Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details |
| Avenue Sounds |
|
| Pretty Girls Love Amapiano Vol.1 | |
| Pretty Girls Love Amapiano Vol.2 | |
| I Am the King of Amapiano |