There's this herb I heard about growing up in the Vaal. Allegedly, once inhaled by a victim, thisincense could induce such deep states of sleep in them that burglars could clean out their entire house unhindered. Whether the herb actually exists is debatable, but it usually makes for a great explanation as to how otherwise alert people could fall victim to such crimes.
In reflecting on the runaway success of Cassper Nyovest's latest single, Tito Mboweni, I can't help but be be reminded of this mysterious incense. I can't help but wonder whether everytime Cassper says 'Sha! Sha!', it's a secret hypnotic prompt that keeps viewers entranced while he gets away with what we'll call 'borrowing' several elements his latest single and accompanying visuals.
The Beat Sounds a LOT Like Future's 'Stick Talk'
Cassper issa FAKE smh.
Future says "yeah yeah"
Yena he says "sha sha"
Nigga ain't creative at all. #TitoMbowenipic.twitter.com/CjCt0jma75
— Njabulo Ntombela (@Iam_NjabuloX) March 27, 2017
Hearing beats that sound similar is nothing new for the game, some might even argue that it's an inevitable result of conforming to certain sub-genre's like 'Trap' or 'Gansta Rap'. I've always noticed, for instance, that the instrumentals and lyrical concept for Chris Brown's Transform Ya, and Beyoncé's Upgrade You - have uncanny similarities. With Tito Mboweni and Stick Talk, however, the duplication is more blatant. You could literally mute Future on his song, paste Cassper's vocals on there, and play it back with hardly anyone noticing the difference.
I'm 'Sorry', but That Lounge Scene Looks Uncomfortably Familiar
I'm just going to let the pictures do the talking. Was this all just a coincidence?
'Ntja me' Sounds a Lot Like 'Jumpman'
The words sound even more similar when said several times in succession, especially over a beat like Drake and Future's 'Jumpman'. One of Cassper's verses in the song does exactly this, and again, it hardly raises suspicion.
'Pfah! Pfah!': Pay-Off Line ye-Plagiarism
Artists borrow from the culture all the time, it's nothing new. Cassper himself has made a number of songs where he pays homage to icons like Doc Shebeleza and Mahotella Queens, to name a few. It's all fair, so long as you credit the originator.
I'm rocking Versace
But I smell like Dior (Pfah! Pfah!)
To the untrained ear, the ad-lib makes Cassper sound like a genius. I mean, who uses onomatopoeia like that, right? The answer to that question, dear reader, is a mix DJ and vlogger who goes by the name DJ Khathu.
The World Is Cassper's, Apparently
Iwouldn't blame you for accusing me of reaching on this last point. It may be the only gesture in the entire video where an effort was made to mask the plagiarism. But sure enough, one can clearly see how Nadia Nakai plays the 'role' of Bonang in AKA's The World is Yours music video.
Al Capone said, if you're going to steal, steal big - Cassper has done exactly that with this song. This article can't take away the record number of views the Tito Mboweni video has racked. Haters can't do anything about the fact that this is the biggest Hip Hop song of 2017 thus far. I rarely romanticise crime, but then again, rarely is it executed so beautifully.