South African Rapper Costa Titch Dies Following Onstage Collapse

South African rapper Costa Titch died over the weekend, just hours after collapsing onstage during a music festival. The family of the artist, whose real name is Constantinos Tsobanoglou, confirmed the news on Sunday (March 10).

“Death has tragically knocked at our door,” they wrote via Instagram. “Robbing us of our beloved son, brother and grandson Constantinos Tsobanoglou, who South Africa had come to love and idolize under the stage name Costa Titch. It is with deep pain that we find ourselves having to acknowledge his passing at this time. We are thankful for those emergency responders and all those present in his last hours.”

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Footage circulating online shows Costa Titch fall over onstage before being lifted up by someone beside him. He gets up briefly and tries to continue the performance before collapsing again.

Costa Titch was at the forefront of amapiano, a style of music characterized by deep house, log-drum driven basslines and soulful piano melodies. His rap style combined South Africa’s culture, style and indigenous languages with international rap sub-genres like trap music.

“Big Flexa” catapulted him to stardom in Africa after becoming a TikTok hit. The YouTube video featuring C’buda M, Alfa Kat, Banaba Des, Sdida and Man T has amassed more than 45 million views. The rapper had recently partnered with a music label started by Akon, who was featured featured on a remix of the track.

Just three days ago, Costa Titch shared photos of his “Spread The Love” campaign with Converse South Africa. Costa Titch’s family didn’t disclose his cause of death, but one theory suggests the rapper, who allegedly suffers from epilepsy, died from a seizure due to the strobe lights. He was 28.

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