American star Chris Brown has surprised a South African schoolgirl, Naledi Aphiwe, by paying her R55k for using her voice on his new album ’11:11′.
Naledi Aphiwe, a student from KwaZulu-Natal, featured on the song ‘Shooter‘ as the intro and outro, where she sings a cover of a Big Zulu song in the Zulu language.
Chris Brown discovered Aphiwe’s talent when he came across her TikTok video in 2022, where she sang with her classmates. He was so impressed by her voice that he reposted the video on his Instagram stories and said her voice was “incredible”. He also contacted her and asked for her permission to use her voice on his album, which she gladly agreed to.
Naledi Aphiwe was credited as one of the song ‘Shooter’ writers, along with Chris Brown and other collaborators. She also received a payment of R55k from Brown as a token of appreciation for her contribution. Aphiwe told source she was shocked and grateful for the opportunity and the recognition:
“Chris Brown did what I would have never done. There are many people who are talented outside, and he chose a child from a small city like mine. I appreciate him so much. People who didn’t know anything about Naledi Aphiwe today know her. It has changed my home situation. Everything is good now.
“First I want to buy a new phone so I can carry on making content and push my music. I also want to go to my mom’s grave to fix it for Thanksgiving since we weren’t able to do things the way we wanted when we buried her last year.”
South Africans have applauded Chris Brown for acknowledging and exposing Naledi to a global audience. Some, however, complained that the money was negligible.
Tshepixo
“Wow, Chris a real one for this 🙌🏾💯”
Shonny:
“Local artists don’t give them even a penny! Now you want more from Chris?”
Tebogo:
“Unlike your local faves who just chow vulnerable artists and give them no cent. Big up to Chris Brown for this.”
Sihle:
“I guess people expected more because I don’t think half a million would’ve made a difference to Chris brown, but ke this is not bad plus also getting a share of the royalties for the song as long as it’s being streamed. That’s a great deal!”
Source iHarare
