Watch! Kelvin Momo Opens Up About His Highschool Days As A Rebel. Kelvin Momo is the stage name of Thato Kelvin Ledwaba, a South African performer, DJ, producer, and songwriter. Over the last few years, the self-proclaimed Soulful King has been creating production mixes and churning out songs, earning him a reputation as a great producer.
The self-proclaimed “king of private school amapiano” Kelvin Momo has in the past years managed to master an idiosyncratic subgenre that incorporates jazz, deep house and lounge sounds. Kelvin is considered one of the pioneers of a unique sound that’s fuelled by darting keys and tantalising pads, replacing the distinctive amapiano grit with a polished shine, culminating in a stone-cold masterpiece.
However, to get to where he is, the star started off as a disobedient child while finessing through the start of his music career. In an interview with Tbose, Klevin Momo opened up about his high school years as a rebel, saying he used to play dice in high school. “I used to have a ponytail and play dice at school. I even used to bunk highschool and not go to class. I remember at one time I took my father’s phone, and when I arrived he would beat me up,” he said.
Under the watchful eye of Kabza de Small, Kelvin Momo has been able to make strides within the music industry with his album Momo’s Private School, released under the King of Amapiano’s record label Piano Hub in 2020. However, it was his recent offering, his much-awaited album Amukelani that left his fans bowing in awe at the talent that is Kelvin Momo. “My father used to play music a lot when I was younger specifically jazz that’s where my love for music began. I then started to familiarise myself with different genres and that’s when I realised that music somehow sets my soul on fire,” said the 28-year-old from Diepkloof, Soweto. I was in high school when I got my first smartphone, I learnt how to DJ using it that phone. I would select a song and create a playlist from there… little did I know it’ll grow into the love of music such as being a full-time DJ.”
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.
