Remember Pitch Black Afro? He's a free man! Here's a look at his life & career before jail

After serving three years of his 10-year sentence for culpable homicide (five years of which were suspended), South African hip-hop artist Pitch Black Afro is a free man, courtesy of his sentence being remitted.

Correctional services department spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo told TshisaLIVE the muso, whose real name is Thulani Ngcobo, was released from jail last Friday.

“The department can confirm Thulani Ngcobo was released as his sentence expired on August 18. He benefited from the special remission of sentence.

“Culpable homicide is among the offences covered by the special remission of sentences. There are no conditions to his release as his sentence has expired,” said Nxumalo. 

Pitch Black Afro was sentenced in June 2020 for the death of his wife Catherine Modisane.

Here's a look of the man and artist that was, before killing his wife and being sent to jail.

His rise to fame

Born in 1979 as Thulani Ngcobo, he hails from Soweto. He adopted the name Pitch Black Afro because of his love for the Afro wig that he always wore. 

The rapper rose to stardom in the early 2000s and stood out for his unique flow, rhyme and rhythm.

Thulani was discovered by DJ Cleo, who helped him produce and put together his first album.

The Hit Songs

His debut album, Styling Gel was released in 2004 and sold more than 50,000 copies locally. 

Other albums under his belt include: Split Endz, With Love, Zonke Bonke‎, Int'emnandi and Wonderwall .

His talent and likable personality made him an instant hit with fans.

Some of his hit songs include A Day In My Life, Matofotofo, Pitch Black Afro and Never Let You Go.

Listen to some of his hits below:

The Death of Catherine Modisane & The Trial

News24 reported the case details as follows:

The deceased was found dead on December 31 2018 and the cause of death was blunt force trauma, which could have been caused by the accused hitting his wife's head against the wall.

The muso admitted he pushed his wife and she hit her head against the wall. at a bed and breakfast in Yeoville, Johannesburg. Her body was found the next day.

Thulani then stood trial at the South Gauteng High Court, which was subject to several postponements.

Then, in June 2020, Pitch Black Afro was finally found guilty of culpable homicide for the death of his wife. However, he was not found guilty of defeating the ends of justice. 

The judge said the state did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that Ngcobo had planned to kill Modisane. 

The Sentence and Beyond

The Never Let You Go hit maker was sentenced to 10 years in prison for culpable homicide, five years of which five were suspended.

In February 2019, the muso described life behind bars as a “controlled holiday”. 

In an interview with Drum magazine, Thulani opened up about what life was like inside a prison cell, which he shared with eight other await­ing-trial prisoners, at the time. 

“If I stay here too long, I might gain weight because I’m eat­ing too much. Cava my T-shirt is crisp white. I’m not a nyaope dude. I wash my clothes ev­ery day and other peo­ple even ask me to wash theirs. But I can’t wait to get out of here, man.”

The muso spoke about the good time he was having, and even said he planned to do a concert to uplift the guys.

“They asked for a show and why not? They can get speak­ers and a sound sys­tem, and we can do this. Just to up­lift the Ama­jita (guys), you know.”

Not much was reported about the rapper after the early 2019 interview. He only served three years of his sentence.

It looks like the rapper now has a “second chance” at life. Only time will tell how he uses it.