DJ Maphorisa Calls Out Nota Baloyi Over Unpaid ‘Ngud’ Royalties, SA Weighs In: "Did Nota Answer?"
- On Sunday, 18 January 2026, DJ Maphorisa rained on Nota Baloyi's celebration by taking another shot at him
- Nota Baloyi responded to DJ Maphorisa and clarified why he had not paid him for producing a hit song
- Fellow musicians and social media users jumped into the debate, with reactions ranging from humour to criticism
Source: UGC
Renowned producer and wheel spinner, DJ Maphorisa, sparked reactions after taking another jab at free-spoken music executive Nota Baloyi on X (Twitter).
DJ Maphorisa had previously dissed Nota Baloyi during a live performance at an undisclosed club. During the performance, DJ Maphorisa joined in on a vulgar chant dissing Nota Baloyi for his criticism during a podcast episode.
The versatile producer, who recently announced that he was dumping Amapiano for another genre, took things up a notch by calling out Nota Baloyi over unpaid royalties for a hit song he co-produced.
DJ Maphorisa takes another jab at Nota Baloyi
What was meant to be a celebratory moment for Nota Baloyi turned into an opportunity for DJ Maphorisa to accuse him of exploitation and non-payment.
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On Sunday, 18 January 2026, Nota Baloyi took to his X (Twitter) account to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the release of Ngud by Kwesta featuring Cassper Nyovest. The post was captioned:
“Released Ngud’ 10 years ago today.”
See the post below:
Reacting to Baloyi’s post, DJ Maphorisa asked when he was going to get paid for producing one of SA Hip Hop’s hit songs. The post was captioned:
“Are you gonna pay me my royalties, yoh🙄 been waiting 10 years.”
See the post below:
In the comments, Nota Baloyi threw shade at DJ Maphorisa whilst explaining why he had not paid him. The post was captioned:
“You’re too young to forget you sampled Camino de Sol, and they claimed 100% of the publishing Alzheimer's. Almost 10 years since 'One Dance', and you’re not even owed one cent on that. Add 49 cents, and I can explain for you as 50 told me, if they hate, then let them hate and watch the money pile up!”
See the comment below:
SA reacts to DJ Maphorisa calling out Nota Baloyi over royalties
In the comments, ordinary South Africans and colleagues in the music industry, such as DJ Buckz, weighed in on DJ Maphorisa asking Nota Baloyi for his royalties. DJ Buckz referenced the title of another Kwesta song on which he features, while others resurfaced the same allegations against DJ Maphorisa.
Here are some of the comments:
@Deejay_Buckz exclaimed:
“Mayibabo 🙆🏽♂️🙆🏽♂️🙆🏽♂️”
@miyelani_mabasa said:
“1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 years?! That's a long time to be owing someone 😩”
@IamSeloma mocked:
“Fetch that Boy Phori, he couldn’t even gain weight with your money.”
@ZizinjaAbelungu claimed:
“But Phori, you've been robbing a lot of artists, now that it’s you, it’s not nice, neh?”
@Sharyberry_M said:
“You waited for them to make money first before you came to collect your royalties 😂😭”
@mlalo_tshililo joked:
“Cyril's economy is bad, even Phorry needs royalties😂”
@tumi_tulipz asked:
"Did Nota answer?"
Source: Instagram
DJ Maphorisa slams Kwesta over Ngud
This isn't the first time DJ Maphorisa has claimed that he wasn't paid for producing Ngud.
In 2021, Briefly News reported that DJ Maphorisa called out Kwesta during an Instagram Live session.
Lord Phori slammed Kwesta after a deal between them did not go the way he had hoped.
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Source: Briefly News
