South African rapper Costa Titch has died at the age of 28, his family confirmed on Sunday. The artist, whose real name was Constantinos Tsobanoglou, was performing at the Ultra Music Festival in Nasrec, a suburb of Johannesburg, when he collapsed twice onstage. Festival organizers said in a statement that they were “devastated” by the artist’s death, calling him “a talented rapper, dancer, songwriter, collaborator, and friend to the festival.”
Fans and fellow artists have expressed sadness and dismay over the news of the rapper’s death, with South African and American artist Leslie Jonathan Mampe Jr., who goes by Da L.E.S., tweeting “RIP Costa Titch. Great talent gone too soon.” The Southern African Music Rights Organization, a copyright group that represents artists in the country, offered “heartfelt condolences” to Costa Titch’s family. It is the second high-profile death in South Africa’s dynamic rap scene in just a few weeks, following the death of Kiernan Forbes, 35, who went by the stage name AKA, last month.