Pabi Cooper’s ‘Banyana Ke Bafana’ Reaches Major Milestone On Tik Tok. Born Paballo Mothapo, Cooper started out as a dancer who performed at small scale concerts. Despite being noted as an entertaining dancer, the multi-talented musician believed there was more to her as a performer than just dancing. That’s when she shunned her imposter syndrome and embarked on a singing career that saw her collaborate with amapiano stars such as Focalistic and Ch’cco.
Cooper has been hard at work since her big break. She owns her own label Cooper Entertainment and recently released her hit song Banyana Ke Bafana which features fellow amapiano mainstays Focalistic, Ch’cco, Luudadeejay and Nobantu Vilakazi. The song has now reached major milestone on Tik Tok. Banyana Ke Bafana hitmaker Pabi Cooper has been crowned the most-viewed local artist by TikTok, followed by Limpopo dance queen Makhadzi, amapiano sensation Mr JazziQ and vixen Uncle Waffles.
The single has been her biggest one to date with over half a million streams on Spotify and more than 400 views on YouTube. She won the best newcomer at the Amapiano awards in December last year.
I discovered amapiano at a time I think became crucial for my career. My love for amapiano runs deep. What I love the most about it is that my voice suits the beats and the melodies. It’s such an authentic sound. As an amapiano singer, I feel like I belong to a community that’s on a global stage. “Yes, my music career might be peaking to an upper level but one thing I will make sure of regarding my career is to be involved in African football as a match official – my passion for soccer won’t be clouded by my music career.”
“Things started panning out for me last year when I first released my song Isphithiphithi… that’s when I became big. I performed on Idols SA and started touring the country. How I grew as an artist blew my mind… I couldn’t believe it. A lot of artists such as the late Mpura and Killa Kau were so excited to see my growth. They would validate my craft every time they saw me.”
Being well on her way to superstardom, Cooper plans to have a clean brand that showcases nothing but her talents. Much like the rules on the soccer pitch, she hopes to abide by the guidelines that will avoid her being a “one hit wonder” by putting in the work and focusing more on being a legitimate artist that’s not driven by fame but by her craft.
