Award-winning musician Vusi Nova is laughing off claims that there is a scandal surrounding his new single “Ndincede”.
Nova took to Instagram and posted an image of the City Press headline: “Vusi Nova's new song scandal” and dismissed the allegations as “rubbish”.
"No! It’s titled “Ndincede”😅 if you don’t gerrit fogerabourit!
“So apparently I bought the chorus nge 3k and a case of beer. Really? You guys should be ashamed of yourselves for writing such rubbish,” he wrote in his post.
The musician is alleged to have bought a crate of beer and paid R3 000 to the writer, Tenki-tenki Mabutho, 64, of Langa, Cape Town, for the chorus of “Ndincede”.
According to the report, Mabutho’s family is seeking legal advice on the matter. However, Nova says he and the family are on the same page regarding the agreement for the song.
Nova has shared several videos with Mabutho after locating her through social media.
He even went on to share that he played her the full version of the song, he used her lyrics for the chorus, and shared that she gave him “all the blessings in the world”.
An inebriated Mabutho went viral on Tik Tok for singing the song she made up. The song is taken from a traditional Xhosa hymn called “Ndincede”, which has long been in existence.
She changed the lyrics to “ndincede nkosiyam ndiyeke obutywala ngoba ndinxila umvulo necawe” (Help me quit alcohol, oh Lord, because I drink from Monday to Sunday).
According to the Sunday Independent, Madoda Mabutho, who is Tenki-tenki’s brother, said the family met the singer to ask for their blessing to launch the song, however, no no contractual agreement was entered into.
“He may have added his own twist to the song, but the lyrics to the chorus remain the same. He went to my sister’s home with his crew and gave her R3 000. No formal agreement on paper has been made.”
Nova confirmed to the publication that he met the family and they discussed what the split would be from a business perspective.
Nova said they agreed that in terms of songwriting, he (Nova) and Tenki-tenki Mabutho would get 50% each of the royalties, because she wrote the chorus and he wrote the rest of the song.
“I left her a copy of the royalty agreement between two songwriters which they have to email back to the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (Samro) with her details filled out.
“This is a lifetime of royalties for uMama. I know the song will do well and will be big. What people don’t understand is that she and I do not need to have a contract. The contract is with Samro,” he said.