12 thoughts on “Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba”

1. Seeing a woman who is probably from Ireland trying to tackle an African dialect DISTURBED me.

   Would I be nominated to sing a Celtic, Gaelic or German classic? NO.

   I am SO SICK of coons defending White people being disrespectful. There was NO reason for her to do the solo and I refuse to watch the rest.

   Imagine me singing the Japanese National Anthem at the Olympics?

   EXACTLY.

   1. …theres some severe logic problems in your argument. And I’m not trying to start anything, be dramatic or call you out. I’m saying this very very respectfully….

      1) language is not bound by culture in the sense that someone from one group can’t speak a certain language or sing a song in that language. In-fact most schools encourage bi-lingual studies because that’s how communication works. It’s how we bridge the divide and interact with people not from our own culture.

      2) black people arent a monolith. Africa isn’t a single country. Its a massive continent housing a whole multitude of languages even among black people.

      Your logic suggests that people who aren’t from South Africa fluent in Zulu can’t sing the damn opening number? The song wasn’t written for a culture. Its not some ancient tribal ritual. Its the Lion King. One of the most commercialized properties on the planet. All they did was use the language and Lebo M sang it because he was responsible for translating it to them, he was a renowned singer, and he could pull off its authenticity by speaking in a language familiar to him.

      3) who is being disrespectful in the video? She wasn’t mocking the song. She wasn’t insulting the language. She was singing the intro as soulfully as she could and she was very very clear in her diction. She didn’t have to come from the country to speak the language.

      4) the writers/animators/ producers directors etc. They work very very hard to respectfully bring the African Savanah to life and paid some great detail to the local culture in order to accurately present the film. The Intro is Zulu. The names are swahili.

      These are spoken in different countries with Zulu= south Africa and Swahili= at least 7 African nations. To lay claim to either language just because your black is really really ignorant. These are countries with whole different cultures. They do not have the same backdrop and and incredibly diverse despite showing up on the same rock.

      The film was made with respect to those. Nothing was stolen or misappropriated. If anything the film -one of the biggest films of all time- allowed billions of people exposure to the beauty and artistry of the zulu language. They’re singing it because they have an appreciation for it.

      5) its ironic youre calling her out for cultural insensitivity when youre blindly assuming she’s irish because her hair is red…. why would you think she’d have greater connection with Ireland than Africa…as opposed to America?

      6) Lebo M was CONTRACTED to assist in the writing of the song. He wasn’t just contracted they had him sing it- one of the most powerful film openings of ALL TIME because of his voice. Like the voice of God himself shouting over the savanah. He’s a big singer and has been performing in some of the most prestigious music halls in the world in sold-out concerts because of this song. What are you even getting at? They didn’t steal a chant. Dafaq?

      7) undue credit…..? Boss, they wrote the damn song. They had the guy sing the song in his language as well as gave him a whole ass song in addition to the opening. How are you trying to take that away from them when its their words? The only thing from SA is literally the chant. Not the music either.

      8) no one gives a damn if you sing something in gaelic/celtic. No one would care if you sing something in japanese. If youre not disrespecting the culture then its okay to sing a song in any language because that’s what language is. Its for everyone. How the hell are you trying to gate-keep that?

      Dude, you seem like you had a bad day or something to let this little sing-a-long upset you. Its not that serious. No cultures were harmed in the making of this song. Nothing was stolen or lost. She was actually on-key for the most of it.

      If anything, south africans- not the whole black community- could say she was wrong since its their damn language.

      Language is art, its meant to be shared and experienced by others. This music is for everyone and singing it isn’t problematic. Disney could translate the song into every language and it STILL will open with the zulu chant. Because it grounds the film. Don’t make this an issue it is not….

      1. I didn’t have a bad day. Anybody can sing what they want in private or for fun. When it is in public and official setting such as this, those from that culture should perform it.

         Anybody is welcome to try and buck that and will be dragged accordingly.

2. The beginning was good to me. I think the fact they were white might be clouding the judgement a little, and I get it. And let’s not forget the writers are two White English men. So that made them feel comfortable doing the African chant in the beginning. I can see it from all angles. But they were good.

   1. Saying the writers were two White men is so classic “White people need to be defened”.

      That’s like saying Michelle Williams wrote “When Jesus says yes, nobody can say no”. That’s a local African gospel chant much like “Happy Birthday” to Americans.

      If you surround yourself with people from a culture, USE WORDS FROM THEIR LANGUAGE, and listen in on them just vibing and trying to forget the after affects of colonialism and apartheid, OF COURSE you’re the only one on the writing credits!!!!

      DO you not see these rappers going into the hood to do music videos or to Africa with dusty children dancing around them?

      The kids are smiling in the video, but after the video shoot is over, the artist packs up and goes back to their comfortable life. They get paid in “exposure” Sitting in on Africans vibing does not give White people the right to butcher this song. Do not EVER give White people undue credit EVER again!

3. Eh, I’m not gonna intentionally dislike it just because the women is white, I mean seriously, now did I love it? No, but can I recognize that singing this is probably really difficult & the women DID hold her notes? Absolutely

4. If I didn’t see who was singing it I would say it’s fine (I’m a big broadway and music Stan) but to see a choir full of white folks singing a African inspired song is awkward.

   1. I mean she was def trying to capture the Broadway version and not the film one. The broadway interpretation is more drawn out with all those variables in pitch and intensity. It’s supposed to be an intense guttural cry along with a call and response (reason why there are 2 soloists-broadway version)

      I think she did aight. I mean she did what the song required of her so it worked pretty well in that regard. I’m not going to fault her performance if she was feeling the song a lil too much. It worked for what it was.

      …that guy in the back tho has the most intense face. He was deep in the song.

5. LMFAOOOOOO! Oh nah. I’m sorry, but wtf were they thinking? They really tried it like yoooo 😂😂😂😂 Who told them that was a good idea? Like what? They really put their all into it too like wow. If y’all wanted to sing a Disney song, should’ve sung Let It Go or Part of Your World. Is Arabian Nights going to be next? 😂😂😂😂

   1. ^okay i thought it was just me.

      1. Definitely not just you Mari 😂😂😂 I’m sorry. Karaoke is wilding with this one. Just because something isn’t terrible doesn’t mean it’s not horrible.

         1. ^it was so much screaming and no soul to it.
            it definitely isn’t a good rendition tbh

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