DJ Cleo finally pays Bucy Radebe her royalties after months of 'keeping mum'

Tlou Cleopas Monyepao, popularly known as DJ Cleo, has paid royalties due to gospel star Bucy Radebe for their hit single together after the singer threatened to take legal action against him. 

The two stars collaborated on the Gcina Impilo Yam remix which has garnered nearly 20-million views on YouTube since it's release in February 2021 and is a huge success on their streaming platforms as well.

Bucy told TshisaLIVE she felt disrespected, having been part of one of the most popular songs in Mzansi and not benefiting at all.

“I got so disappointed after hearing from my manager and my attorney about the situation. I expected the DJ to respect the contract as he has been in the industry for a long time.

“I saw about five emails that the DJ has ignored and had to instruct my attorney to take legal action to make sure he complies with the contract and we have confirmation from the distributors that they have been paying him. I also know that YouTube pays every month because we do our own distribution, so there’s no excuse for his action rather than disrespecting me and my company.”

The singer's manager Thapelo Thoboke said, while Cleo initially wanted to pay a once off feature fee, they opted to receive a percentage of the royalties instead — which are paid quarterly.

Bucy's legal representative Dumisani Motsamai told TshisaLIVE DJ Cleo and Bucy had a signed release contract which he failed to honour for months while ignoring their emails.

Motsamai asked that the royalty figures be kept confidential.

On Monday, TshisaLIVE attempted to get comment from DJ Cleo but was unsuccessful.

Thoboke confirmed that he received funds from DJ Cleo on Tuesday morning.

In a statement shared with TshisaLIVE, DJ Cleo said he had not checked work-related emails during mid-year exams, so he was not aware of the email requests from Bucy's team.

“I was in my mid-year exams and not checking any business emails or gigging. By the time I saw the email, after my exams, there had been a communication to me by my distributor to expect new payments, which prompted me to ask Mr Thoboke for a new invoice that includes the new amount due.

“We never got the new invoice, so the old invoice was settled. That’s all the reasons for the delays. But no royalties are now due, all has been paid in full.”

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