Self-styled godfather of kwaito Mdu Masilela and media personality T-bo Touch are embroiled in a dispute with king of kwaito Arthur Mafokate who used their names in the line-up of artists billed to perform at his festival, A Night With Legends, without paying them a cent.
Mdu has since pulled out of the much-anticipated music festival in protest of Mafokate’s failure to pay them.
According to the poster that Mafokate circulated on social media, Masilela and Tbo-Touch (a club DJ) are among the line-up of music legends scheduled to perform at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand on October 1.
The two are expected to share the stage with the Kaffir hitmaker, kwaito mega star Kabelo “Bugaluv” Mabalane, award-winning kwaito heavyweight Thebe Mogano, and house music superstar Oscar “Oskido” Mdlongwa.
A music executive, who did not want to be named for fear of reprisal, said T-bo Touch and Masilela are seething with anger after Mafokate failed to pay appearance fees for the show, which is sponsored by SABC1, among others.
He said the payment imbroglio may throw the organisation of the festival, whose tickets are being sold at Computicket for R350, into disarray after Masilela’s withdrawal.
“Traditionally the promoter books the artist and pays them a deposit of the appearance fees they have charged to secure their performance [on the said] date,” said the executive.
“After that, the promoter then includes the booked artists in the line-up of those [who are] going to perform at the show, but this was not the case in this regard. Arthur used the faces of these people in the poster without paying them deposits of their appearance fees.
“They initially kept quite because they liked the concept with the hope that he will pay them, but now we are in September and the show is on October 1 and no cent has been paid to them. This is not fair.”
The executive added that what piqued Masilela is that he may have possibly lost revenue because other impresarios will not book him to perform on the said date, because they know he will not be available.
Masilela, whose phone rang unanswered, couldn’t be reached for comment at the time of going to press. But Sunday World has seen a WhatsApp conversation between the executive and the Chomi Ya Bana hitmaker in which Masilela says he would no longer strut his stuff at the event.
“I’m not part of the above event,” reads a message from the irate artist.
His message is accompanied by a poster in which he has put a cross on the face of a picture depicting him as being part of artists scheduled to perform at the jamboree.
Tbo Touch, who hosts an afternoon drive show Touch Down on Metro FM, confirmed that Mafokate has not paid him.
“He has not said anything. Our faces are there, they have been used long time ago. Now we are in September and the show is next month and he has not said anything. We have not been paid,” said the club DJ.
Mafokate declined to comment, saying he does not know what we are talking about.
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