South Africa’s Master KG gets 210 million streams on Spotify

December 15, 2021 128 1

South Africa’s Master KG is the 25-year-old DJ producer whose world-shaking gospel tune ‘Jerusalema’ — with the silky Zulu vocals of fellow compatriot Nomcebo Zikode, boasts over 210 million listens on Spotify, 415 million views on YouTube, and 7 billion views on TikTok.

“When I look at the statistics, the numbers, it always surprises me, no one could have predicted this,” he says. ‘Jerusalema’ was the most requested song on Shazam for eight weeks in the autumn of 2020.

The story is known. Released at the end of 2019, the single got a new life when it went viral on social media — with diverse choreography by the adoring public to the track spreading across the internet and into the lives of everyone around the globe.

“I would never have thought that police officers could dance to my music,” he says with amusement. He didn’t get a big head, despite the luxury cars on display on his social media accounts. “I had already had success before ‘Jerusalema’, without any connection of course, but now everything becomes more comfortable, this title will generate income for the rest of my life,” he savors.

Featured singer Nomcebo Zikode’s life has changed too. When he approached her to lend her voice to “Jerusalema”, she was thinking of giving up music. Now, she has just released an album.