Alter Kay Hip hop artist in South Africa

Kwazi Titi also known as Alter Kay is a young rapper, singer and record producer from a town called Butterworth, in South Africa. He was born on October 03, 2001, in Queenstown, South Africa. His mother is a choral quire conductor and a teacher. His father deals with art and dance and he’s also a teacher. Before Kwazi began rapping, he used to be a dancer and an athlete. According to his parents, his love for Hip Hop began when he heard “In Da Club” by 50 Cent, when he was about 4 years old. He started rapping when he was 14 years old and recorded his first track when he was 15 years old, under the pseudonym King Kay. After few months, he changed his stage name to Alter Kay. His parents didn’t really know that he was a rapper until they saw his performance videos on social media. His parents didn’t really like the idea of him being a rapper because his marks dropped when he was doing grade 11 and he was only focusing on music.

According to him, being followed by Street Runner (an American Grammy award winning producer) on Twitter also made him believe in himself. At the age of 16, he won a rap battle that took place at a Hip hop event that was taking place next to his school. He was known as one of the best rappers and performers in his hometown. His lyricism was praised by everyone who listened to his music or his freestyles on radio stations. He describes his music as “the mix of the old and new school Hip Hop, with other genres, such as Bounce and R&B music”. He also refers to his music as his diary. Alter Kay lists Kanye West, Eminem, Drake, Chris Brown, Kendrick Lamar, Nas, Jay-Z and J. Cole as his top influences.

At the age of 17, he became a brand ambassador for an organisation called Tenza Beach. His song titled “W.I.D” got over 3 000 downloads. His other two singles titled “Wide awake” and “Premonition” got over 1 000 downloads. “Wide Awake” received radio airplay on Mixxwire, a radio station associated in USA. Altogether, his mix-tape titled “Self Conscious” got over 5 000 downloads and over 1000 YouTube views. His fifth single titled “Offload” got over 1 000 streams in 5 days of its release and reached number 35 on Soundcloud New & Hot: Hip hop & Rap. It also reached number 36 on Soundcloud New & Hot: All genres. It also received radio airplay in many radio stations, including Greenhitz FM, a radio station associated in USA. In 2019, he was nominated on Mbashe Youth Music Awards in two categories (Song of the year and Artist of the Year). He was also nominated on SADMA Awards in two categories (Best Upcoming Artist and Best Hip Hop Artist). His single titled “So Much Love” featuring Anathi K also reached over 1 000 streams in 5 days, and reached number 9 on Soundcloud New & Hot: Hip hop & Rap It also reached at number 13 on Soundcloud New & Hot: All genres, spending 7 days on the charts, receiving 3 reviews in USA. It later got over 4 800 streams. “So Much Love” became his most spun song by radio stations. After dropping “So Much Love“, he released a song titled “The Drill” which also received over 2 000 streams within 8 days of its release, spending a week on the Soundcloud New & Hot Charts. “The Drill” later got over 4 870 streams. It reached number 13 on New & Hot: Hip Hop & Rap charts and number 18 on Soundcloud New & Hot: All genres charts. It got reviewed in USA in less than two hours of its release and later got a YouTube reaction video by Army Veteran.

Earlier in 2020, he was featured on the Bloggerelite 90djbase article in Nigeria. In June 2020, he was crowned as the artist of the week by World of Art and was featured on the Whatsapp Magazine. He was also crowned as “The Street Star Of The Month" by Music & Life. On the third of October 2020, he released a mixtape titled “A Teen“, which got over 10 000 streams within six days of its release, getting over 15 000 streams within a month and later got over 20 000 streams.“A Teen” consists of different sounds, such as Rap, Trap, RnB and Bounce music. On “A Teen“, Alter Kay reflects on his life as a teenager, including his love life, friendships and his past experiences. He also raps about what’s happening around the world, like the police brutality and GBV (Gender Based Violence). “A Teen” is by far his most popular project, being played and reviewed in other countries like United States of America, Nigeria and United Kingdom.
Earlier this year, he signed a deal with Beige Records. A record label located in Vancouver (Canada) and Paris (France). On the 5th of February 2020, he released his first single in partnership with Beige Records titled “Who Dat?”. “Who Dat?” reached number 12 on Soundcloud New & Hot: Hip Hop Charts and it reached number 22 on Soundcloud New & Hot: All Genres. In March 2021, he appeared on Hip Hop Citizen Show, an American online show. On the 3rd of April 2021, he did his own show in his hometown for the first time. In September he dropped an EP tittle Diary Of The SarN which reached 15k streams on all digital platforms.