South African Rapper Costa Titch Dies While Performing on Stage

South African rapper Constantinos Tsobanoglou, popularly known as Costa Titch, died over the weekend after collapsing onstage during a music festival performance. He was only 28.

Titch was performing at the Ultra South Africa concert near Johannesburg when he collapsed while on stage. The rapper regained consciousness but, in quick succession, collapsed a second time. Following his second collapse, emergency responders and members of his team tried to revive him, but their efforts were unsuccessful. It is not yet clear what caused him to collapse.

Akon, who signed Costa to his label Konvict Muzik, also shared some heartwarming words on his Instagram account regarding the late artist.

“I remember when Babs played me his record for the first time. I was convinced that he would make an impact in this world. Costa Titch had a vision that I knew for sure would take over the music industry globally and was on his way to doing just that when god’s plan intervened. It’s been a sad day, but what makes me feel better is that I know he died doing what he loved doing the most in this world. God bless you COSTA!!!!!,” Akon wrote.

Before he passed, Costa had released the remix to his commercially successful “Big Flexa" song. The rapper was also known for records like “Super Star” and “Goat." In 2020, he released his debut album, Made in Africa. Here's what OkayAfrica wrote about it at the time:

"Made in Africa doesn't do much to introduce the listener to the person behind Costa Titch. It's not that kind of album. As mentioned previously, it's made up of bangers and has plenty of guests. Almost every song is designed to be a single. So, there aren't any deep cuts in which the artist digs deep into his personal life to share heartfelt stories and vulnerability. The only instance is the song "Holy Rain," in which he reflects on his ongoing rise to the top of the SA hip-hop food chain—from being Cassper Nyovest's dancer to being tasked with 'saving the game.'"

Our thoughts go out to all of his loved ones.