By Frank Ulom
Do you know that Shakira’s “Waka Waka” heavily samples a 1986 song, Zangalewa by the Cameroonian group, Golden Sounds?
Well, know that today – “and the beat, melody and chorus were taken from the song without permission”, Africa Facts Zone reported.
According to an interview with AP, the 44-year-old Colombian claimed she was walking and got the inspiration to record the song.
THE PARADISE NEWS gathered that Shakira’s version of the song has over 10 million sales worldwide.
Shakira’s Waka Waka peaked at number one in 15 countries.
As of 2021, it has 2.9 billion YouTube views. It went Platinum in the USA, 5x Gold in Germany, Platinum in the UK, Platinum in France, 12x Platinum in Sweden, 6x Platinum in Spain, 6x Platinum in Italy, and 3x Platinum in Switzerland.
Shakira’s Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) went 2x Platinum in Mexico, 2x Platinum in Austria, 2x Platinum in Denmark, 2x Platinum in Belgium, Gold in Australia and Platinum in Finland.
Zangalewa’s video was a criticism of African military officers who worked with whites to profit from oppressing their people during colonialism.
“It contains military jargon created by Cameroonian sharpshooters to communicate with each other during World War II (1939-1945)” – Africa Facts Zone claimed.
In the interview with AP, Shakira said she got the lyrics to “Waka Waka” while she was walking to the house before the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup which was hosted in South Africa.
“It came to me in an unexpected way. I was taking a few days off in my farm in Uruguay – I walked from the barn to the house, and on that walk, boom! It came to me”, Shakira told AP.
It was further gathered that Golden Sounds contacted Sony Music for their credit. Shakira later said it was a Cameroonian chant and she got it from a Spanish cover.
From the above, it shows that the original singers of Waka Waka are Golden Sounds from Cameroon and not Shakira from Colombia.
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Source: Paradise News
