Amapiano Star Konke Opens Up About How A DM From Musa Keys Changed His Life. Konke’s spectacular rise has been a sight to behold. The 20-year-old singer, whose real name is Phiwakonke Ntokozo Ntanzi, exploded onto the scene in May when he released his debut single, “Kancane”, alongside award-winning amapiano star, Musa Keys. Despite only being out for a couple of months now, “Kancane” is one of the year’s most popular songs.
In August, just three months after its release, Konke closed the South African Music Awards with a stunning performance of the hit single alongside Keys. Eager to maximise the growing hype, earlier this month the pair turned up the heat with the release of another single, “Mnike”, which has been an instant hit on the radio. It’s been quite the start.
While his meteoric rise has taken some adjusting to, it’s been a journey he’s been enjoying. “It’s super amazing. It just requires me to allocate my time efficiently. It’s also just given me a great experience, getting to know different places, and travelling around different countries. The experience on its own is dope to a point where you feel like, eish, whenever I’m not moving or not going anywhere it’s actually not my life.”
Konke’s roller-coaster ride started in March when Keys came across a video he’d posted of himself singing on Instagram. Impressed by what he saw, Keys commented on the post before sending him a direct Message (DM), requesting that the two work together. Konke remembers seeing the DM only around five hours later because he’d been busy studying in the library at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, where he’s in the third year of his law degree.
“I knew I had to reply or react very, very fast, so I sent my contact details as he requested. Same time, he gave me a call and he said he wants me in Jozi so we can record something. We did that and, within two days, ‘Kancane’ was born. It was the brightest new beginning. Things just started moving and changing.”
