Kwesta Admits He “Sucks” at Marketing After Album Flop, Jokes He Needs Nota Baloyi

• Kwesta opened up about the poor marketing of his collaborative album with Kabza De Small during a Podcast and Chill live stream
• The award-winning rapper admitted he had not built a dedicated promotional team and joked that he needs his former manager, Nota Baloyi, igniting a massive debate online
• Kwesta confirmed that he has put together a team to ensure his future music releases receive proper campaigns and greater public awareness

Rapper Kwesta has admitted that he dropped the ball on promoting his collaborative album with Kabza De Small when asked about the project's poor marketing.

During a Durban July live stream on Podcast and Chill, co-host Sol Phenduka pressed the Ngud rapper on why their joint project, Speak N Vrostan, with the Amapiano star as well as his 2025 release, The Big Bro Theory, arrived with barely a whisper despite their quality. Kwesta's response was both candid and self-deprecating, acknowledging that most listeners either missed the releases entirely or assumed they had flopped simply because nobody was talking about them.

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Why Kwesta's album went under the radar

The rapper was honest about where the blame lies. He confirmed he had no dedicated marketing infrastructure in place at the time, meaning the albums were left to find their own audience without any meaningful push behind them.

"I haven't really assembled a team in terms of pushing music since that time. So I've really not been putting in big effort when it comes to the marketing side."

To lighten the mood, Kwesta joked that what he really needs is Nota Baloyi back in his corner.

Nota, his former manager and business partner, was widely credited with building the aggressive, high-profile campaigns that helped propel Kwesta to the top of South African hip-hop during his commercial peak. The two have since parted ways, and Nota has remained a polarising figure in the local music industry.

Rather than dwelling on the misstep, the father of two framed the experience as a turning point and major eye-opener. He told Podcast and Chill that the lessons learned from Speak N Vrostan and The Big Bro Theory's quiet releases have pushed him to restructure how he approaches putting music out.

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He confirmed he has now built a team around him specifically to handle promotion, planning, and public awareness for upcoming projects.

"So whatever comes next will be better planned for in terms of pushing it forward and creating awareness."

Watch Kwesta's interview below.

Social media reacts to Kwesta's interview

Online users admired Kwesta's honesty and plans to better his efforts in future. Read some of the responses below.

Veteran broadcaster Sizwe Dhlomo praised Kwesta:

"This is an honest answer. Big ups to him."

Ngqulungaaa said:

"Maybe he really needs Nota."

AkhonaTyhaliti posted:

"They need each other. @lavidaNOTA and @KwestaDaKAR, brothers fight and forgive each other."

oliversright added:

"I'm glad Sol brought this up."

011_Zakess joked:

"We're not going to hear the end of it from Nota, lol."

Unathi Nkayi returns to music

In an earlier report, Briefly News shared online reactions to Unathi Nkayi making a long-awaited return to music with the release of a new song.

The former Idols SA host and radio presenter opened up about her decision to step back from the industry as well as what fans can look forward to.

Source: Briefly News