Do we like them?

Do we like Master KG?

Our score: 7 out of 10. No harmful words or company turned up, but the record is thin and a contested copyright fight over his biggest hit is still hanging.

Master KG, born Kgaugelo Moagi, grew up in Calais village near Tzaneen in Limpopo. At 13 he was making beats on a computer bought by his late uncle, and he used to fake being sick to stay home and make music until his mum locked his room and sent him to school.

His 2016 single 'Situation' lit up Limpopo and got him signed to Open Mic Productions, on the condition he finish matric, which he did in 2017. He built his name on Khelobedu-language bolobedu house, and in 2018 he won the public-voted SABC Summer Song award for 'Skeleton Move'. He told the Sowetan he came 'from nothing, truly speaking'.

Then came 'Jerusalema', with Nomcebo Zikode on vocals, which became a worldwide dance craze in 2020. The success has been followed by years of legal mess. Zikode lost a 2025 Gauteng High Court bid against Open Mic over her contract, though the court was not asked to decide who owns the song, and Master KG was not a named party in that case.

The bigger stoush is a 2022 suit by producers Charmza the DJ and Biblos. They allege Master KG and Open Mic did not control the rights when the song was released, and that Charmza created it. Master KG and Open Mic deny it and say he had produced the track before the studio session. A trial was set for November 2025, and I couldn't find a result, so it stands as unresolved.

On the harm check, the record is clean but thin. Nothing turned up on him and LGBTQ+ people, women, migrants, vaccines or the climate, and no sign he has worked with people pushing that stuff. Silence isn't a stamp of approval, so it's a pass on what we could find, not a deep dive into his views.

The good stuff is mostly the music and the hustle. After his 2018 win he said he was thinking of giving R25,000 to a charity back home in Tzaneen, though the article doesn't confirm he did. A fan also said he bought him a house, which is a claim from the fan's own tweets. Nothing lately: no fresh scandal, and the 2026 gossip about retirement and a new album turned out to be rumours.