Grammy Award-Winner Zakes Bantwini Calls Out Nota Baloyi Over Career Claims: “Don’t Rewrite History”
- On Friday, 24 April 2026, Nota Baloyi took to his X account and made bold claims about Zakes Bantwini and Scotts Maphuma
- The Grammy Award-winning producer responded to Nota Baloyi with a history lesson and a word of advice
- Several commenters applauded Zakes for correcting Nota calmly and professionally, while others poked fun at Nota
Source: UGC
Grammy Award-winning South African producer and DJ Zakes Bantwini has called out controversial music executive Nota Baloyi following his recent statements about his career.
Baloyi has previously landed in hot water for some of the views he shared on his official X (Twitter) account.
While this does not carry the same weight as having his visa revoked by the United States, Nota Baloyi was left with an egg on his face after Zakes Bantwini responded to his claims on X.
On Friday, 24 April 2026, Baloyi posted a throwback video of himself, veteran rappers Kwesta and Cassper Nyovest, performing the smash hit Ngud on SuperSport. In the caption, the Music Pulse co-host claimed that he influenced Zakes Bantwini and up-and-coming Amapiano musician Scotts Maphuma. The post was captioned:
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“This was me 10 years ago. Still in the same shape a decade later. I put all these fellas on and gave these kids a style to run with. From Zakes Bantwini to Scotts Maphuma, they all got it from NOTA. Then I went corp-corner office and never looked back. I fathered you, like it or not!”
Zakes Bantwini calls out Nota Baloyi for lying
In response, Zakes Bantwini called out Nota Baloyi for lying and shared the version of events. The Osama hitmaker shared that he had already been in the music industry for ten years when he met Nota Baloyi.
Zakes shared how he helped Nota Baloyi. He also advised the outspoken music executive to keep his stories factual. The post was captioned:
“Hhayi Nota kanjani manje 😂😂😂 I had a decade on you. You may have watched and learned from me, not the other way around, which is fine; that’s how growth works. You were 14 when I opened Mayonie Productions and 16 when I released my first artist, Lvovo. I was already A&R at Sony Africa when you submitted ‘Ngud’ to us at Sound African Recording, the imprint I co-founded at Sony back in 2015/16. Influence flows downstream, not up, brother 😂. Big respect to you genuinely, but the timeline tells the real story, just don’t rewrite history, brother. But it’s all love this side, let’s not do this, or at least not like this. 🙏🏾”
See the full post below:
SA laughs as Zakes Bantwini corrects Nota Baloyi’s claims
In the comments, social media users took a swipe at Nota Baloyi and made jokes at his expense. Some applauded Zakes Bantwini for his calm response.
Here are some of the comments:
@INGQWELEKWAZULU joked:
“Come on, Grootman, let’s be fair now, 14 is old. I mean, he started reprimanding his dad for voting for ANC at 4.”
@THendrix777 laughed:
“Don’t lie Zakes. Nota wrote the lyrics to Osama when he was two years old, right after he freed Mandela.”
@Uncle_Tom11 remarked:
“But guys, Nota's lies are always obvious. It's just that he sometimes mixes them with a bit of truth 🤣”
@nuttymasterr applauded:
“You wrote well here Mzkes. You're so full of love and brotherhood. May your heart stay loving. You're such a cool brother in the game. But the narcissist on the other side won't acknowledge.”
Source: UGC
Nando’s reacts to Nota Baloyi’s R850k legal threat
Meanwhile, Briefly News previously reported that Nando's responded to Nota Baloyi after he threatened to sue it over the use of Kwesta’s song in one of its advertisements.
Social media users reacted strongly, with some questioning whether Kwesta was paid, while others debated music rights and poked fun at Nota Baloyi.
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Source: Briefly News
