Zuma Must Fall song composed
AWARD-WINNING KwaZuluNatal singer-songwriter Don Clarke has teamed up with local rapper and friend Thembiso Sithole (aka Special Care) to co-compose and record the Zuma Must Fall song.
The song has attracted much interest since hitting the internet last week. Clarke has also written hits for PJ Powers and Leon Schuster.
By yesterday, the video of the song, featuring the two singers in the studio as well as various protest marching footage, had had almost 12 800 hits, and this was increasing at the rate of about 2 000 hits a day, said Clarke, who owns a music studio in Underberg.
“What is also quite amazing is that YouTube analytics indicate the video is being watched in countries all over the world,” Clarke said.
He wrote the song “out of concern”. “I’m not a terribly political creature, but as is my wont, when moved by anything, I take up my guitar. So the song got made,” he added.
“There is no question that before the bus crashes completely, we must remove the driver – and assess the damage from there,” said Clarke, whose hit songs include Hotline’s Sanbonani.
He said it would not have been prudent to hammer out a Eurocentric song.
“That would most cer- tainly have been construed as just another white man’s bleat, so I turned to my friend and long-time collaborator Thembiso. He and I have worked together for many years, mainly on Leon Schuster’s movies, but he was also the lead singer on my song The Long Walk is Over, which won The Great American Song Contest in 2014.
“He is a very talented young man, and over the years we have achieved a great sound with our combination of contemporary African and Eurocentric folk, pop and rock styles.”
Clarke and Sithole recorded Zuma Must Fall a week ago and posted the video on YouTube.
“I gave him some melodies to sing, and he supplied isiZulu lyrics, plus an impassioned rap. Fortunately, he concurred with my sentiments regarding Zuma.
“There was no major excitement about the song in studio, but a definite sense that we needed to do it.”
The link for Zuma Must Fall is youtu.be/9QYS3241F70.