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WATCH: Ed Sheeran’s Perfect butchered by Babes and Mampintsha, who thinks it’s Stevie Wonder
The internet does not think there's anything perfect about the pair's rendition of the popular song.
Babes Wodumo and Mampintsha | Image: Instagram
A video clip of gqom star Babes Wodumo and her romantic partner, Mandla ‘Mampintsha’ Maphumulo doing a duet of Ed Sheeran’s hit Perfect is currently going viral.
The pair have often been at the centre of controversy, particularly after a the gqom queen – real name Bongekile Simelane – posted a video on Instagram which appeared to show Mampintsha attacking her, which led to assault charges which Wodumo later dropped after the couple reconciled.
This time round, the only crimes they are accused of are musical.
The pair have been ridiculed for their singing, their lack of knowledge of the song’s lyrics, and Mampintsha’s apparent belief that the song is by Stevie Wonder (he calls out “Stevie Wonder” at one point).
Stevie Wonder was trending on Twitter at the time of publication due to the clip.
Those who mentioned the clip include EFF spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, who laughed about “Steve Wonder” on Twitter.
While some assumed the “Stevie Wonder” shout-out shows that Mampintsha doesn’t know who the song is actually by, others came up with elaborate theories as to why the legendary soul musician was referenced.
“He said ‘Stevie Wonder’ after the line ‘I see my future in your eyes,” tweeted one user. “That means he can’t see his future in Babes’ eyes (blind). That’s a pretty smart allusion”.
“What if Mampintsha was referring to Babes when he said ‘hoza Stevie Wonder’ because clearly she’s blindly in love?” suggested another.
When you and your bae are uneducated and inlove :
— 🧚🏽♀️ (@zuluuprincess) August 16, 2019
Steve Wonder 😂😂
— Mbuyiseni Ndlozi (@MbuyiseniNdlozi) August 17, 2019
Babes and Mampintsha mistaking Ed for Stevie Wonder kulaVideo yabo…
— Bongile August (@OfficialBongile) August 17, 2019
This must be the Gangster Love K.O. and Nandi Madida sing about:
There's a video of Mampintsha and Babes Wodumo singing Ed Sheeran's Perfect.
*As I Cringe at the Engrish*
— Bongile August (@OfficialBongile) August 17, 2019
I keep watching that Babes and Mampintsha video pic.twitter.com/DKCcVjljot
— 🧚🏽♀️ Neoentle Zwane (@miss_neoentle) August 17, 2019
https://twitter.com/_abigailmokoena/status/1162644381498793985
What if mampintsha was referring to Babes when he said “hoza Stevie Wonder” because clearly she’s blindly in love? 🤭 pic.twitter.com/Xs0B0zrBt7
— Cynical Optimist (Love me 3000) (@ShedzR) August 17, 2019
Wish I could unsee the video of Babes and Mampintsha ruining ‘perfect duet’😩
— Malebz_2.0 (@Malebz89) August 17, 2019
Actually, a lot of people are in Babes and Mampintsha kinda relationships… but their relationships aren’t public. It’s sad how many people have normalized this. https://t.co/JMG7TnjoGC
— Tshepo Ranko (@Tshepo_Ranko) August 17, 2019
So not knowing the lyrics of an English song makes one uneducated…. 🙄 This Babes&Mampintsha bashing is getting outta hand
— Ndiyi Helmet of Salvation (@RachelZimkhitha) August 17, 2019
Mampintsha has been accused of beating the gqom star before the most recent footage, which was from a live Instagram video broadcast she was doing with fans overnight, was shared.
Although she or someone else allegedly deleted the original video, clips of it circulated, especially on Twitter.
Arts and culture minister Nathi Mthethwa was quick to condemn violence against women as a result of the clip, saying he was “absolutely horrified” by the “senseless act” and encouraged Wodumo to lay charges against Mampintsha, a member of the award-winning Kwaito group Big Nuz.
(Compiled by Daniel Friedman)
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