Kwesta calls out BMW for sampling his song in advert
Rapper Kwesta has taken to social media to express displeasure at BMW for sampling his hit song Spirit in their latest advert, without his permission.
In the advert, the German carmaker plays a song that sounds similar to Kwesta’s Spirit.
Kwesta said BMW should give him credit.
He took to Twitter to slam the advert which celebrates one of the most popular BMWs in the country, the Gusheshe. The advert by BMW South Africa features a song that sounds very much like Spirit by Kwesta.
He retweeted the advert and posted: “Had to school myself and get expert opinion and backing first. Sit downstairs bafwethu!!! Sivaya ngama ‘grootman’ abhaya.”
The rapper went on to say: “Do the right thing!!! It took so much effort from so many people to get the rights to sample that song. We did the right thing because we understood the value of the art! This ad cheapens all of those efforts. DO THE RIGHT THING FOR ‘The Grootmans’ @BMW_SA”
Do the right thing!!! It took so much effort from so many people to get the rights to sample that song. We did the right thing because we understood the value of the art! This ad cheapens all of those efforts. DO THE RIGHT THING FOR ‘The Grootmans’ @BMW_SA
— #2Skeif🐕💫 (@KwestaDaKAR) September 22, 2020
Check out the advert by BMW below:
This #HeritageMonth, we celebrate the life of the iconic #Gusheshe, the ‘Grootman’ of BMW that will always be a mark of inspiration in Mzansi. #TheLegacyLivesOn with the new #BMW330isEdition. Iyeza. #BMW325is pic.twitter.com/BwcUfIpjQn
— BMW South Africa (@BMW_SA) September 20, 2020
Social media users also weighed in on the issue.
Some felt that BMW was being sneaky and should have credited Kwesta, while others argued that the sample did not originally belong to Kwesta. Kwesta himself had sampled the song from Spiritchaser.
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