From Akon’s performance to AKA & Da L.E.S: defining moments of Riky Rick’s Cotton Fest

The organisers of Cotton Fest have announced the unexpected finale of the festival due to disputes among shareholders.

Over the past seven years the festival has been shaping and documenting the youth’s cultural landscape, from fashion to music, art and sport. As the cotton curtain closes, we look back at some of the most memorable moments from the event:

Giving a platform to the youth

Cotton Fest stages provided a platform for industry giants as well as emerging talent, which saw them showcase different genres, including hip-hop, amapiano, gqom and Afrohouse. They boasted a lineup of more than 80 artists across the board.

Global star Akon performing at Cotton Fest

One of the most memorable moments from the festival’s history was when the late Costa Titch surprised the crowd by bringing an international act, singer Akon, onto the stage when they performed a remix of Big Flexa.

National growth

While it might have started in Johannesburg, the festival expanded beyond it to the Mother City in 2022, and in 2023, the festival reached KwaZulu-Natal, which is the birthplace of the founder, Riky Rick, who died in February 2022.

Water under the bridge

While the hip-hop scene is bound to see some of our favourites engage in beef, the Cotton Fest has helped rekindle one of the bromances.

Da L.E.S and late rapper AKA buried the hatchet and shared a heart-warming moment on stage when AKA brought out his old friend to perform their hits Real Stuff and All Eyes on Me, and they shared a hug in 2022. There had been speculation over what led to the two stars’ fallout, including alleged affairs and diss tracks.

Cassper Nyovest and the late Riky Rick were known for their long-time friendship, so when the Gusheshe hitmaker was not on the lineup of the inaugural event in 2019, Cotton Eaters had a social media meltdown.

While Riky dispelled any rumours of them not being on good terms, saying, “beef ain’t for grown people”, Cassper only made his debut in 2022

Edutainment — honing in on the elections

Every year, the festival had different themes, and in 2024, they ran a campaign called #VoteCottonFest to hone in on the seventh democratic general elections upon its return to the city of gold at the Old Station in Newtown for the fifth edition.

Moozlie taking centre stage at the CottonFest

Since the inception of the festival, rapper Moozlie, one of Mzansi’s most sought-after MCs, has hosted and performed on the Cotton Fest stage. She took to her timeline to reflect on the festival from her perspective.

Watch the video below: