Swae Lee is known for his sic beats, so when he announced he would be sharing new music, specifically amapiano-inspired tunes, fans were taken aback.
And it’s not that he, like so many US artists who are jumping on the amapiano train, was keen to dabble in the genre.
It’s the fact that he used a Nigerian flag when posting the tweet: “Wait till y’all hear Swae Lee on Amapiano.”
Of course, it ruffled more than a few feathers, mainly because amapiano was born and bred in South Africa.
The sub-genre of house music and Kwaito emerged in Joburg in the mid-2010s, and since then, has been blowing up around the globe.
Wait till y’all hear Swae Lee on Amapiano 🇳🇬
— Swae Lee Lee Swae (@SwaeLee) July 11, 2023
Tweeps were quick to correct him, including local urban culture account, SA HIP HOP 247 which stated: “Amapiano is a south african genre, at least make researches about the genre fam.”
We suspect the recording artist wasn’t expecting to be dragged for the one tweet and responded by clarifying himself, “Woooooah I never said anything about who was the first guys I just said wait until y’all hear my amapiano songs 🧐 y’all reached for that one.”
Still, it didn’t stop him from catching strays. And yet, there were some who thought Mzansi fans were a bit too much in their feelings.
“SOUTH AFRICAN need to understand he does not say you ain’t the originator of Amapiano….. someone please explain to them before wake up in the morning start burning Nigeria shop like they use to do…,” commented an online user.
Another noted: “Nigeria made amapiano popular all over the world though, let’s all be honest.”
In his defence, Swae Lee later posted a video in response to the backlash, and this time included the South African flag.
Swae World Peace 🇿🇦🇳🇬 pic.twitter.com/72LpvMry74
— Swae Lee Lee Swae (@SwaeLee) July 11, 2023
He also apologised, saying: “I never discredited nobody. Sorry y’all read it that way.
“I never said anything about it’s origins in that tweet. I was just letting my fans know I’m tapped in and been cooking some amapiano style songs.
“Salute to the history of amapiano and the first creators of it. I’m not taking that away from anybody. Much love and stay tuned.