Amapiano outfit The Lowkeys have come under fire for allegedly exploiting their 16-year-old producer and the creator of their new viral track Tjeya, Sims Noreng.
It has also come to light that even though Sims Noreng, whose real is Simphiwe Moteka, wrote and produced the hit jam, he has allegedly been sidelined from performances and radio interviews.
Noreng has allegedly not pocketed a cent thus far, despite his song being on radio, attracting over 400 TikTok challenges and garnering views on streaming sites.
However, The Lowkeys, who were discovered by late music producer DJ Sumbody when they were in high school themselves, say they are doing nothing wrong and the teenager must hustle for himself.
Speaking to Sunday World on Friday, Sims Noreng’s new management team, Obakeng Ramaboa, said the newcomer who wrote the song and made it go viral with Tik-Tok dance challenges is living in poverty while the two members of the hit song are coining it.
“They saw an opportunity to come up with a dance challenge after they realised that this boy has a catchy song. It got attention and as soon as its algorithm picked up, they came in as producers. They offered to help him get verified and to handle his management. He is obviously in high school, so he got excited and let them handle everything,
“Now they went as far as getting interviews and challenges without him. So they took over because he does not have the experience, but now everything is benefiting them and he has been left outside,” said Ramaboa.
Noreng asked for Ramaboa’s intervention after he realised that something was not right because he was not receiving any financial benefits from his song.
It has also emerged that every communication with the teenager, who is still in high school and signing of song documents was done without an adult representing him present.
Ramaboa said Noreng was living in poverty while a song that could change his life was benefiting other people.
The Lowkeys, dubbed Pretoria’s best-kept secret, are a music duo made up of Quinton “Q Unlimited” Gama (25) and Mongezi “Big Zee” Mashabela (25).
When contacted for comment, Mashabela said they did not owe the youngster anything because despite the virality of the song, he is supposed to make his own money as an independent artist.
“He is an independent artist, we have a management so we can’t say that we are gigging because of Tjiye because we have been doing this almost ten years now…I think he has to get management and a booking agent,” he said.
Mashabela could not reveal how much money the song has generated so far, stating that the youngster would have to consult with the publisher directly.
“People say whatever they want because they lack knowledge. We did not hijack because he started it, we finished it and brought in features. We did 70% of the song. The song trended after we worked on the song,” he said.
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