Windhoek
House and Kwasa Kwasa artist Allan Jonathan, popularly known as Swart Baster, has quit his record label, Ogopa Butterfly, claiming that the company failed to deliver and fulfil its part of the contract.
The award-winning musician, who burst onto the scene in 2003, is unhappy with Ogopa’s management style and the direction his music career is taking and so decided to quits. The Rundu-born Swart Baster, who had a five-year contract with Ogopa since 2013, says e promises were made by Ogopa that they would release his album, but they did not deliver and payments due to him were always late.
“I was promised a lot. They said I will release an album every year, but I only have one. If I get a show, I only get paid at the end of the month and they are always giving excuses that there is no money,” he says.
Swartbaster’s also adds that his hit single with Oteya, ‘Chiporoporo’, was due to be on his album last year, but since his album never made it for release, Ogopa placed it on Oteya’s album, which he felt was unfair, as he was not recognised after Oteya walked away with various awards because of his song.
“I was very disappointed when they told me I can’t drop my album, but I could not do anything at the time because I was under the label. Oteya was traveling and touring and performing my song without me being present.”
Owner of Ogopa, Sula Kyababa, says it is ill-advised of Swart Baster to make such allegations after he left the production, without even notifying him. “I just heard it from the media that he is not part of Ogopa anymore. He never sat down with me and I didn’t get any letter of termination or resignation,” he says.
Regarding the hit single ‘Chiporoporo’, Kyababa says the song did not belong to Swart Baster alone, but to Oteya as well. He says he is not responsible for choosing songs, or deciding albums to be released, but the sound engineer.
“Oteya’s dancers came up with the concept and the song was meant to be on both albums, but because Swart Baster’s album didn’t make it, it only appeared on Oteya’s. I don’t call the shots. The sound engineer has the last decision whether the album made it or not. When that was decided, I even questioned it, but he (Swart Baster) was informed and he understood.”