Kamogelo Mphela (born 29 November 1999), popularly known as Kamo Mphela, is a South African dancer and singer. She became an internet celebrity after she posted a video of her dancing on her social media account.

Early life and education

Kamo Mphela was born in Soweto ,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

and grew up in Emdeni,

Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a s ...

. She studied Media at the Boston Media House.

Career

Her passion for dancing started at an early age, when she accompanied her father who worked at

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 ...

and at events where she would perform on stage and dance which eventually led to her getting more exposure through live performances. She later became popular by posting videos on Instagram where she displayed her dancing skills. Before pursuing her dancing career she had tried acting and had got a chance to be an extra on the TV soap

Isibaya ''Isibaya'' was a South African daily drama series that started production in 2013, premiering on Mzansi Magic and created by Angus Gibson, Desiree Markgraaff, Teboho Mahlatsi, Catherine Stewart and Benedict Carton. Siyabonga Thwala leads the mal ...

, but she later realised that it was not for her and she started performing as a dancer at gigs. Her dancing skills eventually got her the name "Queen of Amapiano". In 2019, she got signed to Major League Music and released her Ep titled, ''Twentee'' under the label. She has also released songs such as ''Suka Emabozen'' and ''Menemene'' and has collaborated with South African singer

Busiswa Busiswa Gqulu (born 8 November 1988), known mononymously as Busiswa or Busi, is a South African singer-songwriter and poet. Born in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, South Africa, she gained public recognition for her feature on DJ Zinhle's song, "My Na ...

on the single ''Sbwl'' and has featured on the MFR Soulz single ''Amanikiniki'' ranked #1 on

Good Hope FM Good Hope FM is Cape Town's leading music focused interactive lifestyle radio station, whose Contemporary Hit Radio format provides a music mix of R&B, Pop, Hip Hop and Dance. Good Hope FM targets young, global, routed and now generation listene ...

's SA House Music Top 10 Chart. She has also performed and worked with local musicians such as

Nadia Nakai Nadia Nakai Kandava (née Dlamini; born 18 May 1990), is a South African-born Zimbabwean rapper and television personality. Early life and education Nakai was born in South Africa. Her father is South African and her mother is Zimbabwean. W ...

and

Killer Kau Sakhile Hlatshwayo (5 July 1998 – 7 August 2021), known professionally as Killer Kau, he was a South African singer , dancer and record producer best known for his hit songs "Tholukuthi Hey" and "Amaneighbour" Early life and career Killer K ...

. She has been featured as a singer and dancer in the amapiano songs such as ''Sukendleleni'' and ''Labantwana Ama Uber''. Apart from

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 ...

, she has also danced to other South African popular music genres including

Gqom Gqom () '(Igqomu) () is a genre of electronic dance music that emerged in the early 2010s from Durban, South Africa, pioneered largely by producer DJ Nathan_Medee, DJ Lag, Rudeboyz, Griffit Vigo, Mbreshcar SA and Citizen Boy. It was developed fr ...

kwaito Kwaito is a music genre that emerged in Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa, during the 1990s. It is a variant of house music that features the use of African sounds and samples. Kwaito songs occur at a slower tempo range than other styles of h ...

and

pantsula Pantsula is a tradition and also a highly energetic dance form that originated in the black townships of South Africa during the apartheid era. It developed into a form of social commentary for black South Africans and has undergone several trans ...

Discography

* ''Twentee'' (2019) * ''Nkulunkulu''(2021)

References

matlock

External links

* {{Twitter, Kamo_mphelaxx, Kamo Mphela Living people South African dancers 1999 births People from Durban South African women singers