Siyakaka

Kabza De Small profile

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Siya Kaka

who is Kabza De Small

Heard a name on an amapiano playlist and wondering who is Kabza De Small? He is Kabelo Motha, a Pretoria-raised DJ and producer, and Scorpion Kings is one joint project with DJ Maphorisa, not his whole career.

Several things people repeat about him blur together: where he is from, when he started and what Scorpion Kings actually is. The sections below separate them, and the profile sits alongside other south african music artists on this site.

Origins and career start

Kabza De Small is the stage name of Kabelo Motha. ZAlebs gives his birth date as 22 November 1992 in Mpumalanga, South Africa, while a South African DJs profile says he was born in Mpumalanga and raised in Pretoria. The two accounts fit together: use Mpumalanga for birth and Pretoria for upbringing, and avoid calling him simply a Pretoria native.

Empty city street in daylight with red-painted lanes, tall trees on both sides, multi-storey buildings, and a red van in the distance
A red van drives down the centre of the street, with pedestrians on the pavement at right and a domed stone building at the edge of the frame.

He also did not begin in amapiano. The same profile says he started as a DJ in 2009 in Afro-fused house and EDM, and Mixmag says he began making music in 2009 at 18. That earlier groundwork matters when you read his later success, because it was built over years rather than arriving with one hit.

Common assumption What the record shows Why it matters
He is simply from Pretoria Born in Mpumalanga, raised in Pretoria Describe the two places separately in a bio
He has always been an amapiano artist Began as a DJ in 2009 in Afro-fused house and EDM His career predates the amapiano wave he is linked to
Scorpion Kings was his first release Debut album Avenue Sounds came in 2016 under House Afrika Records Scorpion Kings is a later, collaborative chapter
His breakthrough was a single album Amabele Shaya and Umshove, released November 2018, drew the first wider attention Start with those singles when tracing his rise

These details come from the South African DJs artist profile.

Becoming known in amapiano

His amapiano profile grew through two singles, Amabele Shaya and Umshove, released in November 2018 with guest vocals by Leehleza, according to the South African DJs profile. The same page records that Spotify named him the most-streamed South African artist on the platform for 2019, announced on 3 December 2019. That ranking shows how quickly listeners followed those singles.

Two hands playing a keyboard with black and white keys under warm light, one wrist wearing a watch
Illustrative stock image of keys under warm light, standing in for the studio side of a producer’s work.

It is a mistake to read this as an overnight rise. The singles arrived after his 2009 start and after the 2016 debut album, so his reputation rests on a long run of releases and sets rather than a single moment.

Ownership is part of how he presents himself. Mixmag reports that he founded a label called Pianohub, and it quotes him saying, “all the music I’ve released I’ve owned and I don’t regret it.” Read that as his own statement about his catalogue, not as a description of every label credit on every release, since his debut album appeared on House Afrika Records and a later live release carries a different copyright line.

Black-and-white close-up of a hand pressing piano keys, with a blurred piano body behind
Illustrative stock photo of piano keys, a nod to the genre name and to the name of his Pianohub label rather than a picture of the artist.

Albums and collaborations

His documented releases mix solo albums, duo projects and group EPs, so it helps to separate who is credited on each. The titles below are the ones with a stated release year or credit.

  • Avenue Sounds (2016). His debut album, released under House Afrika Records, per the South African DJs profile.
  • Scorpion Kings (2019). The debut collaborative record with DJ Maphorisa, covered in the next section.
  • I Am The King Of Amapiano: Sweet & Dust (2020). Mixmag says the record went on to become double platinum in South Africa.
  • Rumble In The Jungle (2021). Mixmag lists this album as made alongside Congolese singer Tresor.
  • Banyana EP. A collaboration with DJ Maphorisa and Tyler ICU that the South African DJs profile reports as double platinum. No year is given, so cite it without one.

Of these, the 2016 debut and the 2020 solo-titled album are the clearest places to hear him as the lead name. The duo and group projects show how often he works with others.

Scorpion Kings as a defined project

Scorpion Kings is the joint project of DJ Maphorisa and Kabza De Small, not a label and not a solo Kabza album. Mixmag calls it their debut collaborative record in 2019. Yuledark says they released the first Scorpion Kings album on 5 July 2019, while en route to the Durban July. For the other half of the duo, start with who is DJ Maphorisa.

The project grew beyond the first album. A 2025 Yuledark article states that the album had amassed over 90 million combined audio and video streams. Treat that as a figure from that article at that time, not a fixed total.

The live release shows how the credits work. Apple Music lists Scorpion Kings (Live) as a 2020 release of 14 songs running 1 hour 33 minutes, with a copyright line naming New Money Gang Records, exclusively distributed under Sony Music Entertainment Africa. So the label on that release is New Money Gang Records, and Scorpion Kings is the act and project name.

The duo also took the project abroad. Mixmag previewed a six-hour Scorpion Kings set at Sónar Festival in Barcelona on Saturday 18 June 2022, which is a useful marker of their live reach beyond South Africa.

Performers on a dimly lit stage: a man in a hat playing saxophone, a seated performer in a wheelchair singing into a microphone, a keyboard player at right, and children at left
Illustrative small-stage scene with a keyboard and speaker cabinet; it is not a photo of a Scorpion Kings show.

Awards and recognition

The recognition on record mixes a list ranking, a streaming title and a viewer-voted award, so describe each for what it is rather than calling them all awards.

  • Forbes Africa 30 under 30. The South African DJs profile says Forbes Africa ranked him number 18. It does not state the year, so leave the year out when citing it.
  • Spotify South Africa, 2019. Named the most-streamed South African artist on the platform for 2019. This is a streaming ranking, not a ceremony result.
  • DSTV Mzansi Viewers Choice Awards. A ZAlebs profile dated 16 October 2021 says he was named Favourite Rising Star and Favorite DJ.

Sales milestones sit separately from these. The double platinum status of his 2020 album is covered in the discography above.

Frequently asked questions

Question Answer
What is Kabza De Small’s real name? Kabelo Motha. Kabza De Small is his stage name, as given in the South African DJs profile.
Is Scorpion Kings a record label? No. It is the project and act name of DJ Maphorisa and Kabza De Small. The 2020 live release names New Money Gang Records in its copyright line, per Apple Music.
Which of his records is reported double platinum? Mixmag says I Am The King Of Amapiano: Sweet & Dust went double platinum in South Africa, and the Banyana EP is also reported as double platinum.
Was amapiano the first genre he worked in? No. He began as a DJ in 2009 in Afro-fused house and EDM, according to the South African DJs profile.
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