Who was Tumi Tladi? Tributes pour in as South African Hip-Hop star dies aged 30

South African rapper Tumi Tladi recently passed away on July 10 at the age of 30. Tladi's family issued a statement confirming the South African musician's death:

Tladi's cause of death has not been revealed, and more information about his funeral will be released soon.

Everything to know about Tumi Tladi

Although his date of birth remains unknown, Tumi Tladi was the son of Peter Tladi, who made a significant contribution to the expansion of the live music scene in South Africa. The latter is also the chairman of Mzansi’s jazz festival, Joy of Jazz.

Tladi, whose real name was Itumeleng George Tladi, was an enthusiastic hip-hop artist whose performances radiated energy. On March 8, he posted an Instagram video in which he can be seen being greeted with applause by the crowd as he enters the stage.

In June 2020, he released the remix to his song Basadi, which featured rappers Moozlie and Rouge. The song topped the 5FM hip-hop charts, and Tumi stated in an interview that he had no intention of making a remix and only decided to do so after the song became a hit.

Tladi collaborated with various hip-hop artists like Mustbedunz and worked with DA L.E.S., Tyler ICU, Luna Florentino, and Alfa Kat. His latest video for his track Presidential was released on July 1 and featured Nadia Nakai and Mustbedunz.

Tumi was also recognised as one of the best choreographers due to his unique fusion of South African dance routines and artistic knowledge. He began dancing at the age of 11 and received praise for his performances. He took his dance training at Johannesburg’s Danceweb under Craig Bullock.

He worked on a music video for Will Smith and performed with Cassper Nyovest. Following this, he released his first song, You Ain’t Shh and became popular when the song became a hit on radio and television. He danced all around the world and represented South Africa at the Los Angeles Carnival in West Hollywood.

Netizens pay tribute on Twitter

Tumi Tladi rose to prominence in the entertainment industry as a talented singer and choreographer. Twitter was flooded with tributes when word of his death spread:

Tumi is survived by his parents, five siblings, his niece, and nephews. Details about his personal life have yet to be revealed.

About the author

Anupal is a pop culture writer at Sportskeeda with a degree in Political Science. He developed a keen interest in the lives of celebrities, films, TV shows, and box office collections since an early age. After accumulating significant experience as a content writer across varied fields at companies such as The Indian Wire, DigiStatement, and QuirkyByte Media, he eventually settled on writing about his favorite genre - pop culture.

Anupal believes in conducting in-depth research while writing about any topic and relies on varied sources to ensure he produces holistic articles. He also often glances through content that was published in the 80s and 90s to gain a better understanding of the subject he is covering.

Anupal admires Robert Downey Jr., who played one of his favorite Marvel superheroes, Iron Man. He is inspired by the actor's resilience and the determination in overcoming past struggles to building a successful Hollywood career and admires the way he articulates his thoughts while speaking in interviews.

If Anupal could travel back in time, he would love to experience James Cameron's 2009 film 'Avatar' in a theatre full of fans. When he's not busy working, he binges on the latest OTT titles across languages.

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