Watch! Fan Gets Emotional During Kelvin Momo’s Set Kelvin Momo (born Thato Kelvin Ledwaba in Diepkloof, Soweto in 1994) is a leading light of “private school amapiano,” a variation of the genre that employs elements of jazz, deep house, and lounge. In 2019, he released singles such as the atmospheric “Abantu Bethu” with C.A. Souls as well as the breezy smash “Yelele” with Luu Nineleven and DJ Stoks, and was featured heavily on the ninth edition of the influential label House Afrika’s Mzansi House compilation.
On Sunday, a video of amapiano DJ and producer Kelvin Momo holding an emotional fan’s hand while he was performing at an event started making the rounds on social media and has since gone viral on Twitter. In the clip, other patrons can be seen dancing, throwing their hands in the air and having a good time as Momo plays his set. When he eventually lets go of the fan’s hand, the fan puts his hands together in a heart shape, motions towards Momo, then appears to start crying.
The producer’s 2020 debut album, Momo’s Private School, released under amapiano pioneer Kabza De Small’s label Piano Hub, is driven by darting keys and lush pads, replaced amapiano’s customary grit with a refined sheen, resulting in a stone-cold classic. That same year, he followed the record up with the EP Bayeke, released in collaboration with his partner, the producer/vocalist Babalwa M.
His most recent album, “Ivy League”, is considered one of the best amapiano projects to come out over the past year and he’s been widely lauded for creating his own lane within the genre. Featuring friends old and new, Ivy League earns top marks for its amapiano history lesson in the Sino Msolo-featuring “Madlamini.” It’s a dose of déjà vu for South Africa’s township youngsters with its nursery rhyme vocal, now updated for an audience in their 30s.
