Op-Ed: Kwesta's "Ngud" Still Matters 10 Years Later

Picture this: DJ Maphorisa, head tilted to one side, the elation of 15,000-plus people singing along to a song he produced registering as a mixture of shock, surprise and elation; and to his side, Kwesta, seated down, dressed in blue jeans and Timbaland boots, the epitome of a hood story gone exceedingly alright, sweating from the twenty minute string of hits from his album he'd just finished performing, the biggest smile decorating his face, elation that the countless hours he'd put in as a student of the game were starting to pay off in a big way. This was at the Back To The City hip-hop festival in 2016, held at the time during South Africa's Freedom Day in May; Maphorisa came out to join him in performing "Ngud." It felt epic, legendary, and era-defining in ways that demand the moment be recreated.

That year, Maphorisa was on top of the world, basking in the glory he had been shaping since his days as an intern producer at Kalawa Jazmee, under the guidance of kwaito and house music legends like Oskido and Mandla Spikiri. Drake's “One Dance,” which he had helped produce, was number one globally. Closer to home, in South Africa, he had swapped his Afro-house hat — he’d spent the first half of the 2010s as a member of the highly influential Uhuru and producing bangers with Wizkid and Davido — to explore hip-hop. Some of this work appeared on Kwesta's Da King Of African Rap (DaKAR) Vol. II.

Like Maphorisa, Kwesta had done his share of groundwork. He emerged as a hungry battle rapper in the mid-2000s, experimenting across genres until opportunity met preparation. By 2014, he’d experienced very public setbacks — like the open letter he wrote to one of South Africa's biggest commercial radio stations at the time, decrying the lack of a representative playlisting system — and in the process landed on a sound that would come to define his approach to music going forward. “Do Like I Do,” the DJ Sliqe song he featured on alongside mentor and Skwatta Kamp member, the late Flabba, had the year in a chokehold, a song Kwesta performed at the beloved rapper's memorial service in 2015.

Featuring Cassper Nyovest, “Ngud” was released on January 18, 2016, quickly becoming shorthand for a good time across race, class, and gender demographics. It debuted at #1 on iTunes South Africa and the EMA Local Top 10 chart, spending over 14 weeks at the top and dominating radio playlists throughout 2016. At the 2017 South African Music Awards, it won multiple accolades, including Highest Airplay of the Year, Best Collaboration, and Best Rap Album for DaKAR II, cementing its place in South African music history. It was also named Song of the Year at the 2016 South African Hip Hop Awards.

Slang, Samples, and the Price of Success

“Ngud” resonated because it leaned into a specific township vernacular: the 750ml beer bottle, a symbol of streetmarts but also of knowing your shit, of being in control. Contrast this with 90s hip-hop's fascination with 40s and blunts, and there are some of the foundations that inspired the thinking and approach. “It's what you'd call a 40 oz — a 40 ounce of beer,” he told OkayAfrica back then. Add to that, DJ Maphorisa's flip of Antena’s "Camino Del Sol." He took it from its Belgian-French house roots, whipped it in a groove perfected by the kwaito producers who'd mentored him, and presented it to Kwesta, whose voice had pitched down a semitone or two by that point, making him sound like a rap Maleven who’d woken up from a night of heavy drinking and decided to step on the mic; or a trickster of words whose syllable-bending resembled being accosted at a corner in a seedy part of town, being relieved off all your belongings in full view of the public and, instead of anger, being left in awe of the brilliance in execution.

The sample used for "Ngud" came from Belgian-French band Antena's "Camino Del Sol."

The song also marked an inflection point for Cassper Nyovest. He had made hits, sold out stadiums, and delivered albums that satisfied his base, but “Ngud” positioned him as a reliable collaborator — someone who could elevate a track from good to great. His bar, “ke tshwere stoko sa lekgowa,” (I got a white girl on my side), remains legendary, a signature moment etched deep into the song, complementing Kwesta’s already mapped-out direction.

The collaboration carried symbolic weight. At the time, South African hip-hop was frequently framed by rivalry, split between the camps of Cassper Nyovest and AKA. By sharing a track that became a generational anthem, both artists disrupted that narrative and demonstrated that two major figures could coexist on the same sonic terrain without diminishing each other, setting a template for younger artists to follow.

READ MORE: How Kwesta Wrote One of the Biggest South African Hip-Hop Songs of this Era

A decade later, “Ngud” sits amid more complex debates in the industry. DJ Maphorisa has publicly questioned royalties and compensation linked to the track, stating on an IG Live in 2021 that he hadn’t been paid. OkayAfrica’s attempts to reach out to Baloyi, who was central to that song and album's strategy and overall success, went unanswered. These disputes reignited discussions around producer recognition, publishing splits, and the long tail of streaming revenue in South Africa.

But Maphorisa ignores that the Antena sample was never cleared in a way that allowed equitable publishing shares for all creators, according to music industry commentators. Rights to that sample were therefore claimed entirely by the original rights holders, meaning backend publishing and royalty revenue from the track largely bypassed local contributors, including producer DJ Maphorisa. In January 2026, on the 10‑year anniversary of the track, Maphorisa publicly called out music executive Nota Baloyi in a since-deleted tweet for not paying him royalties, reigniting debate around sampling rights and revenue distribution. “Are you going to pay me my royalties? Yoh, I've been waiting 10 years,” he exclaimed. Baloyi’s response explicitly linked the lack of payout to the Antena sample owning 100 % of the publishing, leaving little to nothing for the producers despite the record’s enduring cultural and commercial success. 

Without “Ngud,” Kwesta might not enjoy his decorated OG rapper status today, Maphorisa may not have ventured into other sonic terrains like Gqom and Amapiano, and we might never have heard Wale-featuring “Spirit,” which drew on the same template.

READ MORE: The Top 10 Kwesta Songs