Johannesburg – BMW South Africa has come under fire on social media after the German car manufacturer released a Heritage Day- aligned advert that features music and visuals that are similar to Kwesta’s hit song “Spirit”.
The advert, which was recently published on BMW’s official social media pages, pays homage to their iconic 325is model, better known as the Gusheshe.
However, rapper Kwesta was not impressed with BMW South Africa for reworking “Spirit” and using visuals similar to the music video for the song.
The song, which featured American rapper Wale, is a sample of Spiritchaser’s 2010 jam “These Tears”.
“This #HeritageMonth, we celebrate the life of the iconic #Gusheshe, the ‘Grootman’ of BMW that will always be a mark of inspiration in Mzansi. #TheLegacyLivesOn with the new #BMW330isEdition. Iyeza. #BMW325is,” read a tweet from BMW SA.
Kwesta took to Twitter to address the Twitter post, saying: “Had to school myself and get expert opinion and backing first … Si down stairs bafwethu!!! Sivaya ngama ‘grootman’ abhaya.”
In a follow-up tweet, he made reference to the efforts made by him and his team to get the rights to properly sample the song.
He said: “Do the right thing!!! It took so much effort from so many people to get the rights to sample that song.
“We did the right thing because we understood the value of the art! This ad cheapens all of those efforts. “DO THE RIGHT THING FOR ‘The Grootmans’.”
BMW SA has not commented.
