The family of iconic disco music singer, Peta Teanet, say they were not compensated nor consulted for the remake of the viral amapiano song, Ka Valungu by Tebza De Dj.
Ka Valungu has taken the country by storm after it trended on social media for its catchy lyrics which feature the original song verses by Teanet, who passed away in 1996.
The song was removed from music streaming platforms iTunes and Spotify on Tuesday following a copyright complaint.
The family told Sunday World that they have spent the last six days, since the song was released, reaching out to Tebza De Dj who has not responded to their text messages or calls.
Forsta Teanet, the younger brother of the Khoma Maseve song maker, said the family is hoping that Tebza De Dj will come back to them before the end of the week to avoid them launching a lawsuit of R20 million for damages.
“They did not talk to anyone when they remade that song. They have done that illegally of I may so. We are still trying to get hold of them because what they did is just take my brothers voice and put a beat,” he said.
Forsta added that when the family first saw a clip of well known DJ Maphorisa playing the song, it sparked an emotional breakdown in other members of the family as Teanet’s music is sacred to them.
“They used his voice. That is not a remix. To use things that belong to someone who has passed without permission is a serious offence,” he said.
“We have elders here at home who when they heard his voice on a different song they broke down and wounds are opened again. That is not fair,” Forsta said.
He said the family is looking into who gave Tebza De Dj permission to remix his brother’s song, following which, a lawsuit will ensue.
“They broke the law. We have started with the legal process. The main issue here is that the voice belongs to Peta Teanet. We spoke to Maphorisa’s management because he is the one who we saw on the clip deejaying, so we want to discover what his role in the song. We also wrote to Tebza De Dj, he salso has not responded,” he said.
Tebza de Dj was not immediately available for comment.
Teanet, who lived in Thapane village, Bolobedu was a South African disco musician of Shangaan descent. He was multilingual and released over five albums and hit songs such and Cina Ndoda, Damage and I Love You. Teanet was shot and killed by a policeman during an argument.
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