Kabz de Small: I Was a Grass Cutter, Plumber before Music Saved Me

[Image Source: Rolling Stone]

By Kinyua Mwangi

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A lot of people think that celebrated record producer and Amapiano godfather Kabz de Small has always had a soft life but this is not the case. Before taking to the decks and making a living from a turntable as a deejay, Kabz was a gardener always in an overall cutting grass.

He laid it all bare during an interview on YouTube channel Crowning Moments hosted by DJ Maphorisa.

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“So my brother, what were you doing before you became a DJ?” DJ Maphorisa posed.

Surprisingly, Kabz said “I used to cut grass for a living. I worked for the municipality”.

Describing it as tough, he became a plumber and most of his work was unclogging sewage drains. He did not ditch the overall at all; he remained with it for this job. Kabz was a teenager then – around 18 years old.

Kabz started his entertainment journey as a disc jockey DJ in 2009. He got his hands in various genres when he started out. He was broke at the time but knew his art well as a DJ.

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It was not until 2016 that his life showed signs of change having fused afro house and Electronic Dance music. Then, he was recording music and he released his debut album ‘Avenue Sounds’ under House Afrika Records.

Two years later, he released two great hits; ‘Amabele Shaya’ and ‘Umshove’. They were his biggest success yet in his music career both as a DJ and an artist. They were the first Amapiano hits that struck South Africa which is why he is credited as the genre’s godfather.