Thembi Seete was deprived of her rights to South Africa‘s iconic Kwaito track, “Phants‘ Komthunzi Welanga“ by Brown Dash. Recently, renowned Mzansi music producer DJ Cleo shared some insight into the process of creating this popular song. He revealed that the music we often hear goes through several modifications before becoming the final version.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During his interview on “Podcast and Chill with MacG”, DJ Cleo shed light on how “Phants’ Komthunzi Welanga” was initially written by a certain vocalist and he wasn’t feeling the track.

When asked by MacG how the iconic Kwaito song came about, DJ Cleo shared that it was actually a sad story, which he needed to talk about as he was sure not many people knew the story.

The producer explained that he was given the song by Vusi Leeuw, who at the time was working for CCP, to create a remix of the track.

The song was an acapella and he didn’t like it but worked on a loop of a certain part, which his friend Brown Dash heard and liked.

At the time DJ Cleo was working with TS Records and they let him know he couldn’t work with people from outside the stable.

Some time passed and DJ Cleo stopped working with TS Records and Brown Dash dropped his second album, which was when he found out that Brown Dash had ended up using the lines from the original accapella.

“I hear it I’m like no no. Remember he can’t write and nothing wrong with not being able to write…The song comes out I’m like f**k and I remember when it came out it was a Thursday. Saturday, I’m at the Zone parking lot.

“As I’m about to leave I bump into Thembi Seete. The first thing she says to me ‘ahh joe, ahh mfethu’.”

DJ Cleo revealed that the vocalist of the acapella song he didn’t like was the “Idols SA” judge who had thought he had cut her off the song, as it was given to him but he had already left TS Records when it was released.

Brown Dash re-sang Seete’s line of Mdu Masilela’s production and he had to explain to the singer what had happened and how she was left out of the production credits.

Thembi Seete