South African Singer Takes Legal Action Against Nigerian Stars; Poco Lee & Smada

South African Amapiano master; Lita Kupela, who is popularly known as Deep London, has taken legal action against Nigerian stars; Smada and Poco Lee for copyright infringement on his and Boohle’s hit single, ‘Hamba Wena’.

With over a million views on YouTube for the Musician and producer’s hit song; Hamba Wena, which features Boohle, Deep London has elevated amapiano to a new level over the years.

Therefore, it didn’t take long for South Africans to flood the comments section with outrage when Nigerian musicians Smada and Poco Lee launched a promotional video for their latest song, “Smada Eh,” which includes a rather obvious and significant interpolation of “Hamba Wena.”

The promotional video, which was posted on Wednesday, has been viewed over 10 million times and has drawn thousands of comments over the past two days. “I just read the Nigerian Copyright Law (Cap 28) and I hope you get sued! You unoriginal thief,” commented @paballo_maseko.

The legal action against @Supersmada has been taken. This guy will pay… This is copyright infringement.”, captioned an angry Deep London when referencing a video of Smada promoting the topical single, ‘SMADA EH!’

SMADA EH!’ is undeniably similar to the concept of Deep London and Boohle’s 2022 hit, ‘Hamba Wena’.

‘Hamba Wena’ received critical acclaim following its release in July last year. It has accumulated over 11 million streams on Spotify and its music video surpasses 1.8 million views to date.

Some Nigerian X users weighed in too, with many adding that they felt that Smada’s version is better than the original and that Nigeria has taken over amapiano now.

“I just want South Africans to understand than we own Amapiano now,” commented @bassseyyy. “Once Asake wins that Grammy, its all over. All these Zulu tears is a waste of time.”

Listen to Hamba Wena and tell us what you think.
https://youtu.be/pu8SZaVVa2M