Lebo M, a Grammy Award-winning composer and producer, is well-acquainted with media scrutiny. Frequently making headlines, his name is often linked to controversy, from high-profile legal disputes to his turbulent personal life.
Recently, Lebo M filed a lawsuit against Zimbabwean comedian Learnmore Jonas in a US federal court.
The legal action follows a viral joke the comedian made regarding the iconic opening chant of “The Lion King”.
The comedian’s defamation and misrepresentation of the legendary Zulu chant, “Circle of Life/ Nants’ Ingonyama”, deeply offended the composer.
During his guest appearance on the “One54 Africa” podcast, hosted by Akbar Gbajabiamila and Godfrey Danchimah, Lebo M revealed how the situation with the comedian escalated to the point where he is wary of his safety.
He noted that uncontextualised narratives had actively put a target on his back.
“Yes, I have to have security around me now. Why do you think I came here…” he shared, explaining that public anger had reached a dangerous peak.
The two are reportedly in talks to drop the lawsuit.
During a deep-seated conversation regarding his life, Lebo M shared his insights on apartheid, xenophobia in South Africa, and a potential entry into politics. He also reflected on his enduring legacy, recalled fleeing into exile at just 16 years old, and confronted various controversies.
Taking the fight beyond the “Circle of Life”
“I’m the only person that sued white people, producers in South Africa, contrary to all the narrative,” he stated with a telling chuckle.
On whether he was afraid to go down that path, he explained that his close familiarity with local dynamics kept him grounded: “I live there, I understand the dynamics… I understand the extent to which I can go, right? Within the boundaries of a heated debate.”
He noted: “If you look at the original 1994 ‘Lion King’ … it stays ‘Circle of Life’ by Elton John and Tim Rice. Years later, we got in with certain people who have a degree or two, [Coughs] we asked them to go have a certain conversation with certain people, and we won that settlement.
“They offered me a lot of money, I said, ‘No, no, I don’t want no money’.”
At the time, he admitted to having a mere $200 to his name but chose long-term ownership over a quick payout.
Lebo M continued: “My voice is all over the world. So now I want to own that. So we ended up with a settlement where I owned 50% of ‘Nants’ Ingonyama’. I was very specific in the lawsuit that this is a legacy of the South African people in the African continent because I know its power around the world.”
Unpacking passports, politicians and misplaced blame
He asked: “Why do you think white folks are not up in arms? It does not affect them. They’re up in Cape Town in a R30 million or R100 million property. The fact is, the influx goes to the hood.
“Everywhere else where there is anti-illegal immigration, it’s not called xenophobia. I don’t like politicians, even though I’m actually considering a new career in politics.”
“If we are going to fix the continent, there’s some realities that we have to deal with. I was thinking on my way here of a movie I also worked on, ‘Tears of the Sun’.”
He touched on the harrowing warfare the film covered: “It was the most painful movie I’ve ever worked on because pain, continental pain, is not selective by tribe or otherwise. But for some reason now, we’ve got sucked into individualistic, tribalistic pain by a particular global machinery that’s always been there.
“So we are at each other’s throats. Nobody wants people dead. But the fact is, the anger and frustration of black South Africans is justified, bro.”
Lebo M dived into the corruption that runs deep in the immigration system. “The fact is that there are South African passports that are bought. Bought through criminality.
“We have South African officials that are selling South African IDs, have been selling South African IDs. How the hell are we going to fix this… It’s not deep. It’s real. These are realities. We have government officials who have been corrupt in the immigration system.”
He noted that this systemic failure has a massive knock-on effect on domestic poverty and unemployment, among other pressing issues.
Political posturing and personal history
In a significant portion of the interview, Lebo M strongly criticised the ANC government for bringing Israel before the International Court of Justice.
He argued that this action was used by opportunistic politicians as a distraction from their own domestic failures and poor service delivery, leaving regular South Africans to face the subsequent political and economic repercussions.
Additionally, he revealed the reason behind dropping his middle name, stating: “When I went into exile, I deleted the English name. I was born Lebohang Clayton Morake.”
