There is no denying that Uncle Waffles is the new princess of the globally acclaimed Amapiano genre, thanks in part to social media. The DJ and musician is the current it-girl in the local DJ scene with a jam-packed gig guide taking her from Johannesburg to Europe, and back to Tanzania all in a week's time. This time, she has been co-signed by one of the biggest global rappers, Drake on Instagram.
The one-of-a-kind sound of Amapiano —or, as it’s also affectionately referred to in the streets of Mzansi, ‘Piano’ which is a direct translation of Piano in Zulu, began to gain international traction around 2019 but has arguably become the biggest sound coming out of the continent right now, with the likes of Burna Boy, Wizkid and Davido all collaborating with its artists and even taking them with on their global tours.
Some of the genre's successful artists are Mr JazziQ, Lady Du, and Focalistic, as well as DJs such as the likes of Kabza De Small, DJ Maphorisa, DBN Gogo, Major League DJz, and Uncle Waffles herself. Many of them have gained popular notice, especially DJ Maphora, but this season is arguably Uncle Waffles’ season.
The star has been given a few nods by many celebrities and especially by Canadian rapper and number 1 streaming artist on Spotify Drake a few times. Drake started by adding Waffles to his Instagram “following” list at the peak of her breakout into the industry, and that sparked so much chaos in Mzansi’s online streets but it didn’t end there.
Drake has since been showing love and support for the superstar DJ online. He started off by joining one of the Tanzania hitmaker’s Instagram LIVE sessions where he spammed with supporting comments with one claiming that Waffles is a “Top DJ, [with] Top Sound.”
Yesterday, after Waffles shared her recent gig set on Instagram stories, Drake recorded the story and re-shared it on his personal Instagram account boasting over 107 Million followers from across the globe. The rapper captioned the story with a waffle emoji and three fuming nose emojis proving that he is enjoying the set.
Uncle Waffles has since responded to Drake’s nods with an Instagram story and a tweet sharing how elated she was for the shout-out from the global rapper. She wrote on Twitter, “
This started sparking the rumor that Waffles was now signed under the Canadian rapper’s record label OVO which has not been confirmed by either parties to date.
Entertainment commentator, Musa Khawula, took to Twitter sharing a layout image with Drake’s and Uncle Waffle’s images saying, “Drake co-signs Uncle Waffles to his record label OVO Sound,” and as expected, Twitter has many reactions, from good to bad, to worst.
Most users started taking a jab at social media influencer Mihlali Ndamase who remains a public Drake fan. They compared her to Uncle Waffles, claiming she is above her. One tweet that has gained a lot of reach and impressions reads, “Uncle Waffles getting Drake’s attention while Mihlali has the biggest crush on him is wild, LOL.”
Some users called Musa Khawula out for spreading false information and for “lying”, and reeducating the online masses on what a ‘co-sign’ means Hip Hop Culture - which is simply an artist with a huge commercial success gives a shout-out to an artist with lower commercial success, mentioning how good they are and that they love their music/song.
But the star does not take Social Media hate to heart. In fact, she has a team managing her social media channels to avoid being at the center of the hate and negative comments. In her recent interview with UK’s culture magazine Complex, the artist said this about social media negativity.
Mihlali is pushing 30 and beyond Drake’s age of preference because he cannot groom and prey on her. He’s a predator and I don’t want us to encourage what he’s trying with Uncle Waffles because she’s clearly still impressionable. https://t.co/zHBq2QhhFi
“I have a team that handles my social media. It’s a 50/50 arrangement that allows me to stay in touch and see what’s going on, but also not get consumed by it. So, for example, if something negative is going on, I’ll be aware but there will be no need for me to really get into it. When it comes to social media, I think it’s hard to remember that a lot of people are projecting and so when they’re being negative by doing things such as claiming that you’re undeserving of your success or not good enough—it’s a reflection of them rather than you. I’ve learnt to trust myself and the hard work I put in, and remember that I’m not where I am by mistake. Most importantly, online talk is just that: online. So they can’t stop the real-life success that’s a result of real-life hard work.”
The DJ who’s originally from Swaziland has released her debut EP, Red Dragon, featuring the hit single Tanzania and has been touring everywhere, and features on many playlists including a cover on Africa’s biggest playlist on Apple Music, Africa Now.
