Nota Baloyi Drags Usimamane After Hip Hop Record: “Meaningless if You Can’t Even Sell 300 Tickets”

• Nota Baloyi weighed in after Usimamane made South African Hip Hop history with his debut album
• Usimamane responded to Nota Baloyi's comments undermining his achievement with a sarcastic response
• Netizens expressed mixed reactions with some agreeing, with Nota Baloyi that streams are meaningless, while others defended Usimamane

Controversial music executive Nota Baloyi ruffled feathers when he shared his two cents after rapper Usimamane made South African music history.

Usimamane makes SA Hip Hop history

Social media user @2022AFRICA took to X on Thursday 12 June 2025 and shared that rapper Usimamane had made Spotify history by becoming the first South African Hip Hop artist to exceed 30 million streams worldwide with their debut studio album. The post was captioned:

“‘20th: DAYS BEFORE MAUD’ by @usimamane has officially surpassed 30 million streams globally on Spotify. It becomes the first debut studio album by a South African Hip hop artist in history to do this.”

Nota Baloyi drags Usimamane after record-breaking streams

While everyone gave Usimamane his flowers, Nota Baloyi came in and spoiled the party with his take on the rapper’s career milestone. The outspoken music executive shared that the millions of streams are nothing if Usimamane cannot sell a couple hundred of tickets. His response read:

“30 million streams are meaningless if you can’t even sell 300 tickets!”

Usimamane didn’t make a big deal of Nota Baloyi’s comment and sarcastically expressed gratitude to him for his valuable insights.

“Thank you, big bro, you always give game hip hop appreciate you nkos ik’busise, love, keep showing love,” the rapper responded.

Fans react to Nota Baloyi's comment on Usimamane

In the comments under Nota Baloyi’s reaction to the announcement that Usimamane had made South African Hip Hop history, netizens weighed in with mixed reactions. Others agreed with Nota and pointed out that the streaming numbers weren’t coming from Usimamane’s fanbase but rather a featured artist, while others labelled Baloyi a hater.

Here are some of the comments:

@ThatCosmoGuy claimed:

“Most streams are coming from Rick Ross' fan base.”

@vusumuzimabaso_ said:

“Born to hate🫡”

@Nova_GOAT567 explained:

“He’s just a youngin in the game who’s still building his catalogue and create a fan base for himself. Even the big 3 in this country started up with a solid fanbase. All of them had to build from the ground up. So, he’ll definitely get there 🤷🏻‍♂️”

@SkateMR_Pstreet remarked:

“Nota's hate towards Durban artists needs to be addressed.”

@sousa_911 responded:

“Ah, the classic case of digital applause without a physical encore. Thirty million streams? Congrats, you’re famous to your headphones. But selling tickets? That’s where the real money sits—like a ghost expecting a standing ovation. Welcome to reality.”

@1NeoBrian claimed:

“You’re always negative bro.”

Nota Baloyi slams Cassper Nyovest after L-Tido interview

Usimamane isn't the only rapper who has been dragged by Nota Baloyi.

Briefly News reported that Nota Baloyi took another jab at Cassper Nyovest on social media.

Reacting to Cassper Nyovest's comments about A-Reece on the L-Tido Podcast, Nota Baloyi essential called Nyovest a washed up rapper.

Baloyi said Nyovest had gone from being a rapper to being a Twitch streamer, and had lost relevance so much so that he started a beef with MacG to fill SunBet Arena.

Source: Briefly News