Netizens react to DaBaby sampling Maskandi hit song 'Wenhliziyo Yami' in viral TikTok video

No DNA, just RSA!

American rapper DaBaby (real name Jonathan Lyndale Kirk) has gone viral in Mzansi after he sampled a Maskandi track titled “Wenhliziyo Yami” by a South African singer, Zwide.

The 33-year-old rapper shared a snippet of a video of his unreleased song on his social media platforms, which has since gone viral and sparked a reaction from netizens.

While he did not share the title of the upcoming track, what captured the attention of South Africans was the lyrics that he is singing, which are the complete opposite of what is being sung in the original song.

The video has amassed over 1 million views on TikTok, over 190 000 likes and over 10 000 comments.

According to “Daily News”, recent data from Spotify has revealed that Maskandi has emerged as South Africa’s fastest-growing genre over the past two years, with almost half of its listeners under the age of 35.

Maskandi is an age-old Zulu genre that has been making waves in South Africa, with many Maskandi artists experiencing a resurgence of growth in their music this year.

One of those artists includes Zwide, whose song “Wenhliziyo Yami” was sampled in DaBaby’s upcoming song that has since taken social media by storm.

In a conversation with “Independent Media Lifestyle”, Zwide, born Sthabiso Nxumalo, shared his thoughts about seeing his hit song, which features well-known acts like Mafikizolo and Umehlabomvu, being sampled by an international artist.

“I was very happy to see a person that does not know IsiZulu, sing along to the song like that,” he shared.

The “iAttention” singer further revealed that there had been no prior conversation between him and DaBaby about sampling the song.

“No, he did not speak to anyone about the song because I did not even know anything about it,” he added.

However, it still remains unclear whether the American rapper sampled Zwide's original song or one of the renditions that have since gone viral as well in South Africa.

DaBaby’s video left many puzzled as they expressed that they can’t hear what he is trying to say, and sent many to the comment section.

A social media user commented: “Niyamuzwa nina? (Do you guys hear him?)

Another user wrote: “I thought it was AI.”

While another user added: “Guys, what is he saying?”