Legendary musician, “The princess of Africa” Yvonne Chaka Chaka recently revealed that she was not given any credit or royalties for her contribution in the hit song ‘Umqombothi’ which catapulted her international career.
The song, recorded and released in 1987, officially credits Chicco Twala and Attie Van Wyk as its composers. However, Yvonne claims that she contributed essential parts to the song but was never acknowledged or compensated for her contributions.
“Umqombothi was written by Chicco, but I added some elements to it. I added that Nawu! Nawu! Madoda and Everybody parts. I have never received a cent from that project” says the legendary musician in an interview with Newzroom.
She continues to express that the hurt stems from the fact that she felt that she was taken advantage of as a young novice in the industry at the time. “They didn’t credit me, and back then, I was young and clueless about the music industry. This is the first time I’m speaking out about this,” she said.
“Me and Attie, as the writers of the song, didn’t even make half a quarter of the money she made from that song. Performers make almost 90% of any hit that a songwriter makes,” Chicco responded to the allegations. He claimed that Yvonne has made millions from performing the song, which is much more than he and Attie did since its release.
Fans are skeptical of Chicco’s story, likely due to his history of drama as a record producer. Meanwhile, some are questioning why Yvonne Chaka Chaka is only now addressing this issue after such a long time.
