MBABANE - Uncle Waffles’s recent BET nomination has sparked controversy among South Africans (SA) after she was clearly mentioned to be from Eswatini (Swaziland), and SA felt left out.
SA rapper K.O. and DJ Uncle Waffles have been nominated for Best International Act at the BET Awards 2023. They will go up against each other and African superstars Ayra Starr, Burna Boy, and Libianca, UK artists Stormzy, Ella Mai, Central Cee, and L7nnon from Brazil, and Tiakola from France. The incident has reignited discussions about cultural appropriation, with most of the people in the comments on Twitter and Instagram mentioning that they didn’t know that the artist was from Eswatini. Others even mentioned how they felt that their ‘country’ was used and then forgotten.
Personalities
The comments went from bad to worse, with even some popular social media personalities weighing in on the issue. ChrisExel’s verified account posted; “No matter how much you can complain, Uncle Waffles used South African resources and our limited electricity to put her country on the map. Swaziland owes us!”With much of the trolling coming in comments, big SA names came through to congratulate the star on such a huge nomination very early in her career. From the likes of Nadia Nakai, DJ Maphorisa, Okay Wasabi, Major League DJz, Anatii, Musa Keys, Simz Ngema, Focalistic, and Boity, just to name a few. The comments ranged from fire emojis to a number of congratulations stringed together from SA personalities showing a lot of love to the Eswatini-born star. Other artists, including Rouge, defended Uncle Waffles following the outrage for writing Swati over SA for her BET Award. Taking to Twitter, Rouge came to his fellow artist’s defence, arguing that the anger towards Uncle Waffles is weird. The Bongo Zaka hitmaker said that people should celebrate Waffle instead of attacking her.
Nomination
Rouge indicated that Uncle Waffles’ nomination for the awards has nothing to do with her demographic or her fan base. “Y’all do know you can only be considered for these awards according to the country you are originally from. Please, can y’all research how these awards work before you bash this queen. It has nothing to do with the demographics of her fan base. Celebrate her and stop being silly,” tweeted Rouge. Uncle Waffle’s real born Lungelihle Zwane, is the daughter of Nomcebo Maseko and Sandile ‘Beyond 2000”. Zwane, who is 23-years-old, was born in Mbabane, Eswatini. She gained prominence in the entertainment music scene, especially Amapiano, after a co-sign by Canadian rapper Drake which she too has entioned was the turning point in her career. She has amassed a large following on various social media platforms and travelled all over the world showcasing Amapiano, even gaining the nickname ‘Princess of Amapiano’. However, after her BET nomination was made public and the country written on it was Swaziland, this stirred controversy and outrage within the SA community. Social media users expressed their discontent, criticising Uncle Waffles for disregarding the country that had supported her throughout her journey. Many argued that her fame was a result of the cultural richness and talent in South Africa.
