The fourth iteration of Cotton Fest JHB delivered an unforgettable musical and cultural experience. The extensive lineup was spread across three stages: the Loft stage by Jagermeister hosted Amapiano acts, a mixture of established and up-and-coming Hip-Hop acts on the Bunker stage by Budweiser and the main stage ; Cotton Stage was an infusion of all genres of music from R&B to Hip-Hop to House Music.
The whole festival was lit, but below are some moments that belong in the annals of South African music:
Costa Titch x Akon 
Image source: @mini__photography
The whole stage turned green during Costa Titch’s performance in which he was accompanied by a gang of dancers. A bubble that was on stage was a way of hiding his surprise guest Akon who joined him while performing ‘Big Flexa’ with Alfa Kat. Akon rewarded him with a chain as he announced a partnership between him and the SA rapper. “I wanna inaugurate him into the Konvict Music family,” he said just before performing his 2006 hit ’Smack That’ to an applauding crowd.
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A-Reece
Image source: @4everafter_
“Eh yoh Riky Rick, eh you Riky, don’t you see me killing this shit? I know you do, bro,” A-Reece exclaimed before performing his popular collabroaiton with King Kotini, Pick You Up’. He ran through his set with a higher energy levels than usual as he performed songs like ‘The 5 Year Plan’, ‘Meanwhile in Honeydew’, ‘Mgani’, ‘Holding Hands’ and ‘Purple Palm Trees’ with his brother Jay Jody joining him on the latter.
Black Coffee 
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Black Coffee closed off the show with a top tier house set. Every moment was magical from the transitions to him taking fans back with some heavy classics including Stardust ‘Music Feels Better’ which AKA sampled for his 2022 hit ‘Lemons (Lemonade).
K.O
Image source: @sabelo_mkhabela_
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“It’s a blessing to stand in front of you 18 years later,” K.O in-between renditions of a selection of mega hits that he performed on the main stage. His set included golden oldies like ‘CaraCara’, ‘Run Jozi’ and ‘One Time’ and recent gems, most notably the massive ‘SETE’. K.O carried himself with the king of swag you can only attain through years of domination.
Elaine 
Image source: @sabelo_mkhabela_
The R&B star made her debut at Cotton Fest this year and it hit all the right spots. Clad in a shiny dress, skin glazed with glitters, Elaine’s radiant vocals infected the crowd with love and emotion. A couple on the front row caught her eye as they locked lips and shared a moment of love throughout her set. “This couple is lovely,” she remarked. It was her fault; performing some songs from her seminal debut EP, ‘Elements’, including the smash hit ‘You’re The One’, as well as new material, Elaine exuded the true spirit of R&B.
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The Bunker Stage 
Image source: @sabelo_mkhabela_
At SlikourOnLife, we love many genres of music, but Hip-Hop will always be our favourite genre, for reasons that should be obvious. The Bunker Stage showcased the cutting edge artists in the SA Hip-Hop scene; while the likes of Nasty C, Blxckie, FLVME and K.O performed their massive hits on the main stage, the bars and mosh pits kept Hip-Hop heads engaged and at high spirits at The Bunker Stage where Tyson Sybateli, Thato Saul, Bravo Le Roux, etc served Hip-Hop heads with beats and hard bars.
Check out our recap video of Cotton Fest below shot by @4everafter_:
