David Scott aka The Kiffness roasts the ANC in his parody song 'Flag is Burning' following the release of the DA's election advert on Sunday. Pictures: X/ @TheKiffness and @Our_DA
In response to the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) provocative burning flag advert, The Kiffness (real name David Scott) emerged from “parody retirement” to roast the ruling party with the hard-hitting Flag is Burning.
The Cape Town musician, producer and parody artist set his song to the tune of Australian rock band Midnight Oil’s iconic political track, Beds are Burning.
This after announcing on Tuesday this week on his X account that he was back in full parody mode, tipping his fans off to a new song.
This whole flag thing has brought me out of parody retirement. New song coming at 17:00.
Flag is Burning spread like a wildfire on social media, going viral with 400 000 views in 24 hours, and igniting election campaign fever online.
One X user, @trishapackham, joked that the well-known muso’s version of the song was “doing more for the DA than their entire marketing team”.
In a tongue-in-the-cheek post on his account, The Kiffness shared a WhatApp message in which one of his old school mates – unaware that this was the muso’s work – forwarded him the song.
“I’ve made enough viral videos to know that when your own video gets sent to you on Whatsapp by an old school mate with “Forwarded many times” in the header, then the video has well & truly gone viral.”
The Cape Town muso explained in an X post that his choice of Midnight Oil‘s hit song from their Diesel and Dust album has been a long time coming.
“During the July riots in 2021 this song came on my Spotify by chance & I thought ‘geez, this is the perfect song for a parody’… but I shelved it & then decided now is the right time, especially after seeing the ad.”
The Kiffness’s take on the song starts off with the following lyrics making reference to the decline in popularity of the African National Congress (ANC) ahead of the 29 May general election.
Thirty years of democracy, champagne socialist hypocrisy. The ANC have begun their descent below 45%.
The time has come, to grab it by the neck and kick them out, they must all voetsek.
How do we vote now the tide is turning? How do we rescue our flag from burning?
DA leader John Steenhuisen gave The Kiffness’s Flag Is Burning parody his seal of approval.
Retweeting the song, he posted: “How do we rescue our flag from burning?”. On its official X account, the opposition party also retweeted Flag is Burning.
NOW READ: DA’s flag-burning video does the job
Since its release on Sunday, the DA’s 30-second election advert has been the subject of a fierce debate triggered by the image of a burning South African flag, with President Cyril Ramaphosa slamming it as “treasonous”.
Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Zizi Kodwa said on Wednesday the department was weighing up what action it could possibly take against the DA.
On Thursday, the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC) announced its refusal to broadcast the advert unless it is amended.
Steenhuisen however hailed it as a great success, with more than four million online views up to date.
According to the DA leader, the party’s lawyers have been briefed to challenge the national broadcaster’s “censorship” of its flag advert.
NOW READ: SABC ‘censors’ DA’s burning flag ad, Steenhuisen celebrates its reach [Video]
Former public protector Prof Thuli Madonsela also entered the fray on X, commenting that “the designer of the campaign may be harbouring unconscious rage against our flag and what it symbolises”.
Madonsela also stated that she believed “other metaphoric symbols” could have been used to convey the DA’s message.
In his response to the former public protector, The Kiffness defended the party’s imagery of a burning South African flag.
“It’s strange to me how you don’t see the symbolism of the ad. It’s not made to disrespect the flag, but to warn against the dangers of voting in another corrupt government.
“How is that not clear? Perhaps you are harbouring unconscious rage towards a government that can actually reverse the burning & decay of our country?” he continued.
NOW READ: ‘Still a racist clown’: The Kiffness stirring up tempers again after controversial election meme
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