Emtee

Mthembeni Ndevu, professionally known by his stage name Emtee (stylized as eMTee) is a South African rapper.

He was born and grew up in Rockville, Soweto, where he was in WWE talent shows.

At the 22nd South African Music Awards, Emtee received five nominations, winning the awards for Rap Album of The Year for Avery and Song of the Year for "Roll Up".

In 2010, Emtee collaborated with South African rapper Maraza on a song titled "In It To Win It".

They appeared on Channel O's show HeadRush.

Before his solo career, Emtee was part of the rap trio, African Trap Movement, alongside fellow South African rappers Sjava, Saudi and their producer Ruff before they were all signed by Ambitiouz Entertainment.

His career began at the age of 17, and his debut hit single, "Roll Up" was released in 2015.

Emtee was signed to Ambitiouz Entertainment, released his debut album Avery (2015), which was commercially successful and was eventually certified platinum by Recording Industry of South Africa (RiSA).

The album was preceded by two singles: "Roll Up" and "We Up".

In early 2015, a friend of Emtee, his producer Ruff produced the beat for the song that would eventually become his debut single, "Roll Up".

Emtee claimed that the entire track was recorded and finalized in two hours.

"Roll Up" received major radio play in Southern Africa and peaked at the top of DJ Speedsta's hip hop chart on YFM.

Wizkid and South African rapper AKA featured on the official re-release of his single, which eMTee called "Roll Up Re-Up".

The late South African Rapper AKA was also known to be the person who believed in him and helped nurture his talent when no one would and stated that AKA is also the reason for his accolades & success today.

He said that "Roll Up" was recorded within a tight schedule, because he and his team were finalizing his debut album.

Emtee won his second award for Song of the Year at the 2015 South African Hip Hop Awards, again for "Roll Up".

"Roll Up" competed in a category where two South African gold selling artists, as well as Khuli Chana each made at least two appearances.

On December 4, 2015, Emtee's debut album Avery was released on iTunes and to domestic music retailers.

eMtee was the third most played South African hip hop artist in the latter part of 2015 (10th most played artist overall).

His second studio album Manando (2017), the title referring to his late high school friend.

His third album DIY 2 was released in 2018.

After departure with his former record label, he then established his own record label Emtee Records.

eMtee's third studio album Logan (2021), which debuted number 1 in South Africa.

He's now expected to release his long anticipated Album DIY3 in 2024, which will be the third installment of his DIY projects, with the first being DIY 1[DIY I].

Mthembeni Ndevu was born to Elias and Anna in the mid-sized town Matatiele, situated in the Eastern Cape, a province in South Africa.

He grew up in Soweto, a major township in Gauteng.

Emtee kept working on his music throughout his late teen years, opting to not repeat his final year in school, although his pass was not good enough to enter him into the major universities in South Africa.

In August 2019, Emtee announced that he was leaving his label Ambitiouz Entertainment, amid controversy.

In September 2019, Emtee established his own record label, Emtee Records under his company African Trap Movement.

Emtee has two sons and a daughter with his childhood girlfriend Nicole Chinsamy, who he later married in 2019.

In November, the rapper said he would be releasing a new EP in 2020.

On 21 January 2020, Emtee announced via Twitter the working on his fourth studio album, DIY 3, in 2020.

The album will serve as a follow-up to his third album DIY 2.

On 8 May 2020, Emtee released a new single, titled "Johustleburg".

"Johustleburg" was first teased during Emtee's "hit battle" with fellow rapper Nasty C in April 2020.

It marks the third single from Emtee in 2020, following "Wave" and "Brand New Day," which he released earlier in 2020.

In early February 2021, his single "iThemba" was released.

The song debuted number one in South Africa.

On April 9, 2021, his fourth studio album Logan was released in South Africa.

At the 2021 South African Hip Hop Awards, Logan received a nomination for Album of the Year and emtee was nominated for artist of the decade.