Dispute over Qwabe twins: DJ Tira hasn't spoken to us

DJ Tira's upcoming collaboration with the Qwabe twins has been thrown into uncertainty after their management claimed the Afrotainment boss had not spoken to them to discuss his plans for the former Idols SA contestants.

The twins are currently contracted to Think Entertainment for all appearances and bookings, and Gallo Records for all recordings.

However, they have made appearances with DJ Tira over the last two weeks, with the musician telling TshisaLIVE he plans to include them on a music video and in an upcoming collaboration.

The twins' manager, Kim Coppen, told TshisaLIVE  she had noted their appearance at an event with DJ Tira, and said if he wished to represent them, they would need to approach Think Entertainment to negotiate their release.

"We are very aware there are social media posts showing them with DJ Tira, but to our knowledge they are not recording with him at the moment. We have been in contact with them and they have not indicated they would like to be removed from their management contract."

Kim dismissed any suggestions that the twins were not aware of the contract or its conditions.

"We are very realistic about the expectations of the artists and how they want to run their careers after the competition. Our main focus is to make sure that during the time spent under our management, they are getting a realistic idea of what the music industry is like and they are protected."

Gallo Records confirmed to TshisaLIVE that the twins are still under contract with them, and they had reached out to Tira to discuss the upcoming collab.

"We have contacted DJ Tira outlining our position that the twins are already signed and that Gallo would be open to having a discussion with them on the way forward. We have not yet had a response. The twins have also not been in touch with Gallo to discuss this or for further clarity about the recording contracts they have already signed," Gallo Record's Rob Cowling said in a statement.

TshisaLIVE's attempts to contact Tira were unsuccessful at the time of publishing this article, but the artist told Daily Sun he was just helping the twins.

"I'm merely assisting them to kickstart their music careers. I wouldn't want to see local talent going to waste. I took them to AKA's events for a public appearance. They did that for free and their fans were happy to see them.

"In the next few days they will be at Afrotainment studios recording their music, but this doesn't mean I have a contract with them."