Remixing is a derivative art-form, meaning music built from a recorded song either by copying the hook, chorus or an element of the instrumental which appeals to you . Remixing instrumentals have become a norm in contemporary urban music with the fluid evolvement of heavily synthesized digital softwares . US artist Girl Talk is the most famous for creating an entire album using sounds from other music and cutting it to his own. Criticism and controversy on P-Square has been outrageous as a majority of their hit songs have been derivative forms of other recorded music or a mere sampling of western songs;, Last night ,Get squared , Game over, ”Bizzy body’, Danger , ”Omoge mi” , just to name a few are quintessences. Remixing and sampling is used by artists as an easy strategy or short-cut to garner quick attention and popularity. As this strategy worked like magic for P-Square and ” now the don di troway”, budding Cameroonian acts seem to have plunged into the same pool . Big Bzy remixed Akon’s ”Belly Dancer” , Steveslil remixed T-Pain’s ”Buy you a drank” to ”Buy you shack” , King Aluan recently remixed ”Chop ma money” to ” mange mon argent” , ”Don 4 kwat to ” Pa 4 kwat ” etc and criticism gets rave as pundits consider this a non-creative aspect or ”gate-scratching” on another’s success. Are these all acts of plagiarism ? . On the other hand, some artists remix or sample songs just to increase fidelity on the older song which may have degraded. Variety of reasons flourish.
If you are keen enough, you can rightly say without fear of contradiction that Cameroonian mainstream song ”Don 4 kwat” by JOVI is a derivative song from US rapper and Konvict’s Red Cafe 2009 single ”Hottest in da hood” or Is it just a translation of title ?
Listening to the ”Don 4 kwat” instrumental, you get some musical components that are derived from ”Hottest in da hood”. ”Jovi simply added spicy melody like the whistle and hit strings to make it different” someone told me yesterday. ”The rap style equally sounds similar” he continued . Can the assertion that no contemporary urban music is original be justified ?.
Listen to this ! .
And compare with this
Whoever wrote this article simply does not know what sampling is all about. No time to sit here and educate you on that, but if you wanna start throwing shots at a young talented and original artist trying to come up, you should really find something that’s gonna stick. I have my car stereo blasting with “Don for Kwat” almost everyday, and i got just one word to describe the song – Dope! It is simply very original and he rhymes in local Cameroonian pidgin. Not very many Cameroonian hip hop artist can boast of having produced any record half as good as this one. Jovi is a pioneer and inventor in his own right. After listening to Red Cafe’s track, i find your attempt to draw parallels between the two tracks pathetic. Jovi tells a story that you and i (assuming you are Cameroonian) can relate to, but what do you know about being a narcotics King in the hood, as Red cafe puts it. Its just another typcial hip hop cliche song about hood, drugs, women….etc. Jovi is going places and he ain’t even made it big yet. Let the boy breath and stop trying to draw him down man.
there is no similarity.
People are sick and am sorry to say do not know how to differentiate good music.I mean what is really this marriage between the awesome bantu blended beats in “Don 4 kwat ” IL n’ya Au q ‘UN rapport entre les deux .If you listen carefully you will get the beats of the african drums and saxophones in Jovi’s music .It a shame i really and I stand for the fact that talent should be appreciated and not shut down when it is ready to shine.I will call this an attempt by ghost riders to destroy Africa’s star.Go Jovi
People are sick and am sorry to say.YOU do not know how to differentiate good music.I mean what is really this marriage between the awesome bantu blended beats in “Don 4 kwat ” IL n’ya Au q ‘UN rapport entre les deux .If you listen carefully you will get the beats of the african drums and saxophones in Jovi’s music .It a shame i really THINK and I stand for the fact that talent should be appreciated and not shut down when it is ready to shine.I will call this an attempt by ghost riders to destroy Africa’s star.Go Jovi
stop hating on jovi….he is the real cameroonian soldier…..if u want hate…go kick bucket cuz u have an empty pocket
This is music we talking about, If u guys don’t know what is call copy write better go learn it okay. It is simple Jovi did copy some stuffs simple listen and listen again okay. stop talking shit.
Regards not that bad.
Hahahhaha they hatin has begun…..this is the internet people, you can’t copy and not expect to get caught. But the track is not bad,but i bet you Red Cafe made more money! Camair Hip Hop 4ever
This article is written in plane english so if you don’t understand the meaning of “controversy” then then put a dictionary by your side when reading, by the way who is hating on who? this is entertainment news. Jovi is a very talented Cameroonian, same as other artist too in their various genre of music. I respect Jovi’s creativity not only in this Don 4 kwat but “New Star” which is a far more better song than the Don 4 kwat on question. In this same article i see the names of many other Cameroonian artists who have done something similar, why are you guys concentrating on the fact that this website is hating on Jovi. Most of you knew Jovi for the first time on this same website and have been following up his acts on this website so please get your words straight and stop hating on the website that feeds you with the latest and the best entertainment news in Cameroon. This website is not the association of Cameroonian musicians which has the power to bring Jovi down so you guys should stop talking trash here, soon you will say France24 helped in the fall of Sarkozy #DumbHeads!
The Association of Cameroonian Musicians has the power to bring down Jovi? WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? @the previous post (Yes it’s me), learn how to spell before making us read your novel. The fact that other artists are mentioned in the article has no relevance, because they are not Cameroonian and this is a Cameroonian music forum. They all STOLE old music to make new music, which makes JOVI just as much a music beat THIEF as the rest. Instead of blindly backing up such theft, we should be making our artists here understand that IT IS NOT OK TO COPY MUSIC, whether you’re from Cameroon or Nigeria or America. I agree with Gustavo I bet Red Cafe made more money than Don for kwat. Jovi is good but he has to be more original. Although i enjoy “his” music, I hear old chords in all of his songs that I’ve heard. Switch it up Jovi, WE EXPECT BETTER FROM YOU.
JOVI COPIES AGAIN
http://chansonsfle.blogspot.com/2012/05/youssoupha-les-disques-de-mon-pere.html
NEXDIM STOP PROMOTING ARTISTS WHO COPY! Just watched pitie by Yousoupha, is that not the son of Rochereau Tabu Le? http://chansonsfle.blogspot.com/2012/05/youssoupha-les-disques-de-mon-pere.html
Artists be Original
Tito I bet you, language is not the problem here, understanding what I mean is the issue which you did, so don’t capitalize on my language and get the facts, my English must not be as perfect as yours ( if it is ) for me to communicate. And if you did read my novel and went through yours again, you will realize you are on my track so cut that yip-yapping.
@ Real G “It is simple Jovi did copy some stuffs simple listen and listen again okay. stop talking shit” wat u u mean by listen and listen again u patient hater. There is nothing similar dumb ass!
@Fusi&Macky so Yousoupha stole the song from his dad right?! You dumb asses. its called sampling not stealing Yousoupha sampled his dad song and i listen to the song its a good one but Jovi nailed the damn thing. SAMPLING in HIPHOP is art.
FUCK THE PERSON WHO WROTE THIS,U ARE A DUMB ASS…..STOP THIS GOSSIPS JEALOUSLY WRITING SHIT…..I KNOW THIS MUST BE HIS FRIENDS…..JOVI U ARE BEST!!!
SAMPLING IN HIPHOP IS ARTS DUMBMIES…..JOVI IS “AWESOME….HATERS SUCK MA PUSSY!!!
No quarrels!!!!! Shupppppppppp…….I love me ma jovi…lol
!
Jovi, u are simply the best…and would always remain so. Forget the jealous critics on:
http://nexdimempire.com/controversy-is-jovi-s-don-4-kwat-a-sample-of-red-cafes-hottest-in-da-hood.html/comment-page-1/#comment-2436
http://www.okayafrica.com/2012/06/08/video-jovi-don-4-kwat-pitie/
I know Jovi from the core…We have been excellent friends since 1999 and we have been through thick and thin together.
I was there in the beginning of his music ambition…I remember those moments when Jovi will compose a verse then ask what I thought about it. Then to joke, I’d add my own rap lines…
When Jovi and I remember those wacky lines I used to add when he sort my opinion, we burst out in fits of laughter.
Most of all, I was priveledged to have begin with Jovi from when he started writing the first line of his hit song; ‘Don 4 Kwat’to when he produced the first demo. Ask Jovi himself and he will confirm all what I have said.
So my advice to all the haters is this:
STOP TALKING ABOUT WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW…and BEST OF ALL, GET A LIFE – PERIOD!
Ginu
Ha ha ha. You all are so funny! Tabu Ley Rochereau obviously knows about the song. His son Charles even tweeted ” CHARLES TABU LEY ?@CHARLES_TABU
Good to know that my freind @JoviLeMonstre is making a big step in the this music industry…we needed someone like him.” August 5
Hip hop has been all about sampling from the beginning. You might as well say Kanye West isn’t original, because all of his songs are from samples. Jay-Z, Dre, Nas, Eminem, etc., they all sample, and they are all creative and amazing artists.
And really? You really think Don 4 Kwat sounds like “Hottest in da Hood?” Jovi is one of the most original artists and producers in Africa, let alone Cameroon. That fact that he raps in pidgin, has punchlines in pidgin, produces amazing tracks,and much more is something every Cameroonian should notice and be proud of.
wonna dey kongossa ei name name while he’s laughing to the bank, lol. I know this must be the hand work of his friends. I was very surprise to read the post of “tito” whom i thought was in his list of close friends. Shame to those who hate on this “Bamenda Boi”, but i know itz all about jealousy. To anybody who don’t know, let me ‘straighten’ your brain. Music is all about what or who inspires you and you bring it out in a new brighter way for it to win the population. and i tell you JOVI has got that street credibility. piss out……..
HATERS GO SCROW YOURSELF, AND FUCK ANY OF HIS CLOSE FRIEND BACK-BITING HIM @TITO VALERY.
Jovi is one of de greatest rap star in cameroon…he is original and his ideas will only flow if you listen to his lyrics carefully…..Jovi has done some thing no cameroonian has ever done before especially with his new album mboko God..no doubt he is original and de red cafe single got nothing to do with the mboko God hit song don for kwat…..wuna no di try abeg live jovi make e get small space nor……