Yvonne Chaka Chaka accuses Chicco Twala of withholding ‘Umqombothi’ royaltiesby Nomonde Simelane
PICTURE: INSTAGRAM
Legendary musician, also known as “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 was recorded and released in 1987 and the official composition credits of the song are given to Chicco Twala and Attie Van Wyk. Yvonne claims that she added integral parts of the song but was never given any credit or compensation for it.“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 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 seem to not buy Chicco’s story, most likely due to a history of drama surrounding the record producer. While some are wondering why Yvonne Chaka Chaka is only addressing this issue now, after such a long time. ” Why is she only talking about this now after so long?” commented a user on X (formerly Twitter).