JOHANNESBURG : Emerging hip-hop artist Thuto Mogale, well known as Mokgangkgara Lepara is set to take his music to one of South Africa’s major hip-hop gatherings when he performs at the Back to the City Festival in Newtown, Johannesburg, on 10 October 2026.

Mokgangkgara is among the 50 emerging artists selected to participate in The Auxperience, a platform designed to give upcoming musicians an opportunity to perform in front of a large live audience and introduce their music to new listeners.

The Auxperience will feature 50 artists, with each performer given an opportunity to present two songs on the festival’s third stage. The participating artists are competing for studio-related prizes and an opportunity to gain exposure to one of the continent’s largest hip-hop audiences.

For Mokgangkgara, the festival represents an opportunity to place his name and music on a much bigger platform while sharing the stage with artists from different backgrounds.

The 2026 Back to the City Festival will run from 2pm until 2am in Newtown, Johannesburg, as the festival celebrates 20 years of hip-hop culture.

The scale of the festival is significant. Organisers reported that the 2025 edition attracted 18,000 people, while creating opportunities for performers, photographers, graphic designers, vendors, production companies, security personnel and other workers in the creative and events industries.

More than 180 local SMMEs were also reported to have benefited from the 2025 festival, while hotels and short-term accommodation establishments in Newtown, Braamfontein and Maboneng recorded high occupancy during the event.

With his inclusion in The Auxperience, Mokgangkgara joins a platform that places emerging artists at the centre of the festival’s effort to showcase new voices in South African hip-hop.

For the artist and his supporters, 10 October will be more than another performance—it will be an opportunity to introduce Mokgangkgara to a new audience and potentially open the next chapter of his musical journey.

-The VIP Team 

-Back to the City Festival