He is nominated for the Viewer's Choice - Best International Act alongside Limpopo singer, Makhadzi, at the BET Awards coming up on 30 June at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Music producer and DJ Tyler ICU, real name Austin Kulani Baloyi, is gearing up for the big day and reflected on sacrificing his degree for music.

 THE BIG BREAK

His career took off after his single Mnike went viral on TikTok even before its official release, with over 50 million streams on digital platforms. He then received a nomination at the 2023 MTV Europe Music Awards. He said that he did not make music for recognition. "I am all about doing what I love and getting recognised is a bonus," he said, adding that "I enjoy what I do." He worked on other hits such as Banyana, Izolo, and Amanzi with Major League. 

DROPPING OUT OF SCHOOL

He comes from a home of music lovers and has great memories of his parents playing him music in their Thembisa home. He started making music at 10 years old and learned to produce kwaito, then moved to Afro beats and hip-hop. If he wasn't a musician, he would be in Information Technology. He dropped out of university before completing his last module. "I definitely will go back and finish. I just needed to focus on one thing at a time," he said. "When I work on something, I like to get it right. Regarding IT, I am a real geek and it's a passion... anything that has to do with computers." Tyler is excited about his success and without explaining further said he nearly died at the beginning of the year. "At the beginning of the year, I had it bad and I was nearly gone from this world." But he is lucky to live a tell a tale of success.