No doubt Costa Titch, the ‘Big Flexa’ hitmaker rise to fame story, has left many puzzled, from dancing to a multi-award-winning musical sensation. The entertainment industry is mourning celebrated amapiano and hip-hop sensation Costa Titch, who collapsed and died whilst performing at Ultra South Africa at the Expo Centre in Nasrec, Johannesburg, on Saturday, 11 March.
Undoubtedly, Costa Titch, born Costa Tsobanoglou’s untimely death, has set social media abuzz, with several local and international celebrities paying tribute to the fast-rising musical sensation.
COSTA TITCH’S RISE TO FAME
In the wake of his untimely death, many have been trying to connect the dots about his rise to fame and big wins. Well, let’s dive into his rise to fame in a timeline.
According to Briefly, Costa Titch was born in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga, South Africa, in 1995. However, unconfirmed reports have it that his father was of Greek origins.
Growing up, he was into dancing, and a few years later, he became the next big thing in South Africa’s entertainment industry. Costa Titch started his career as a dancer. However, according to reports, he later saw himself winning the Red Bull Dancing Competition in 2014.
The same year, he went international while performing at the Hip Hop International Dance competition. Their New Age Steez dance crew finished 14th, propelling him to a bigger stage.
His shot to fame came in the backdrop of his smash hit Activate. Of interest, rapping in Isizulu made him stand out from the rest. In 2019 he dropped another smash hit, Nkalakatha; the rest was history. The song reached over 1 million views on YouTube barely a few days after its release.
The song undoubtedly opened floodgates of collaborations and recognition within the industry. In the wake of his hit, he collaborated with the late AKA and Riky Rick.
He released his debut album, Made in Africa and proved his versatility by fusing genres like hip-hop, house and amapiano into the album. For his debut, he received nominations at the South African Music Awards (SAMA) and the MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMA). He also won several awards at the Hip-Hop and AFRIMA awards.
SIGNS A GLOBAL DEAL
Against his big wins in 2023, Titch signed a global deal with Senegalese-American star Akon’s record label, Konvict Kulture. However, this came in the backdrop of his smash hit Big Flexa. The song made all sorts of headlines when it became the most streamed amapiano track, with more than 30 million views on YouTube.
No doubt he was poised for greatness, and his untimely death is something South Africa is yet to come to terms with.