Lethabo Sebetso (born 26 May 1996), professionally known as Focalistic, is a South African rapper. Born and raised in

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

, Sebetso was a footballer prior pursuing a music career as a rapper, released his debut studio album ''Sgubhu Ses Excellent'' (2020).

Career

Lethabo Sebetso born 26 May 1996 in Zone 6,

Ga-Rankuwa Ga-Rankuwa is a large settlement located about 37 km north-west of Pretoria. Provincially it is in Gauteng province, but it used to fall in Bophuthatswana during the apartheid years, and under the North West province until the early 2000s. ...

, his father Kgomotso Sebetso was the former political journalist working at

SABC The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations ( AM/ FM) as well as six television broadcasts to the general public. It is one of the largest of South Africa's stat ...

. Lethabo graduated at the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 ...

in political science degree. In 2016, he won ''Artist on Rise'' competition. His single "Fak'mali" debuted number 1 on

YFM YFM (99.2 FM) is a "Youth" radio station in Johannesburg, South Africa. Established in 1997, the station is formatted to mostly play urban music genres such as Kwaito, Hip Hop, and R&B along with a minority of its airtime being dedicated to ...

Hip Hop music charts. In early 2020, he established his own record label 18 Area Holdings in partnership with The Vth Seasons. On 10 April 2020, his Extended Play ''Quarantined Tarantino'' was released. In April 2020, his single " Ke Star" featuring Virgo Deep was released. "Ke Star" was certified gold with sales of 25 000 copies. In November 2020, he joined RADAR African programme by Spotify. Focalistic revealed track listing and announced release date in 25 November. ''Sghubu Ses Excellent'' was released on 4 December 2020. In February 2021, his remix "Ke Star", featuring Davido and Virgo Deep was released globally. The single received enormous international success and charted at number 16 on '' Billboard'' Top Triller Global chart in the U.S. At 2021

All Africa Music Awards All Africa Music Awards (also referred to as AFRIMA) is an annual awards event. The awards event was established by the International Committee AFRIMA, in collaboration with the African Union (AU) to reward and celebrate musical works, talents ...

he received seven nominations in the Best male artiste, Artiste of the Year, Best African collaborations, Best Artiste African dance, Best Artiste in African Electro, Break out artiste of the year, Song of the Year. In early September 2021, he headlined to AmaFest Tour in the UK, to further promote

Amapiano Amapiano ( Zulu for "the pianos") is a style of house music that emerged in South Africa in the mid 2010s. It is a hybrid of deep house, jazz and lounge music characterized by synths and wide percussive basslines. It is distinguished by high-pi ...

genre. In 27 September, his studio Extended Play, ''President Ya Straata'', was released with its lead single, "16 Days No Sleep", featuring Kabza De Small,

DJ Maphorisa Themba Sonnyboy Sekowe (born ), known professionally as DJ Maphorisa, is a South African DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter. As a record producer with a blend of house music, amapiano and afropop, he has worked with and has received ...

and Mellow & Sleazy. Focalistic was nominated for Best African Act at

MTV Europe Music Awards The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an a ...

in 2021. In early March 2022, Focalistic performed at 02 Arena in London alongside with Nigerian singer Davido. In 1 May, he embarked on North American Tour, the tour will visit 12 cities includes; Washington D.C, Houston, Dallas, Orlando, Minnesota, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta and New York. In October 15, he announced his studio album ''Ghetto King'' which was set to be released on November 18, 2022. "Tabela Hape" featuring Kabza de Small, Mellow and Sleazy, and Myztro is scheduled to be released on October 28, 2022, as album's lead single. ''Ghetto Gospel'' was released on November 18, 2022.

Personal life

His father Kgomotso Sebetso died in a car accident in his hometown of Ga-Rankuwa in 2011. Focalistic is dating South African DJ DBN Gogo.

Discography

* Ke star (2020) * Sgubu ses Excellent (2020) * President ya strata (2021)

Awards and nominations

All Africa Music Awards

! , - , 2022 , Himself , Best Male Artist in Southern Africa , ,

African Muzik Magazine Awards

! , - , rowspan ="3", 2021 , rowspan="3", Ke star (Remix)" , Best Collaboration , , rowspan="3", , - , Best Male Southern Africa , , - , Song of the Year ,

Headies

! , - , 2022 , Himself , Best Southern African Artiste Of The Year , ,

Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards

! , - , 2022 , Himself , Favourite African Star , ,

Vodafone Ghana Music Awards

! , - , 2022 , Himself , Best African Artist , ,

South African Music Awards

! , - , 2022 , ''President Ya Strata'' , Best Amapiano Album , ,

References

Living people 1996 births South African rappers People from Pretoria Amapiano musicians {{SouthAfrica-musician-stub