[Latest revision: July 31, 2018]
This pancocojams post showcases a video entitled "Nigerians Murder South African Dance Step 'Gwara Gwara' ".
This post also provides information about South Africa's contemporary social dance called "gwara gwara" (also written as gwaragwara") and provides selected selected comments from this video's discussion thread. This compilation documents examples of comments that focus on the dance performance itself as well as the music used for that particular dance performance.
Although some commenters promoted the concept of "One Africa", there was considerable dissension between Africans from various nations.
Some Angolan commenters wanted the video publisher to ensure that people knew that the music track was from their nation and not South Africa.
Most of the commenters who identified as being from the nation of South Africa refuted the notion that the dance being performed was actually "gwara gwara".
Some comments in this compilation also document the negative attitudes some Africans have about "copying" African American culture instead of showcasing African culture/s.
Some of the comments that are included in this compilation document the desire to promote African unity and the desire to "rep" one's own African nation.
In addition, many of the comments between Nigerians and Ghanaians were particularly contentious. I chose not to include any of those contentious comments from that video's discussion thread in this compilation.
Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghana%E2%80%93Nigeria_relations for historical background information about the tensions between Nigerians and Ghanaians.
Also, click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenophobia_in_South_Africa for information about the xenophobia in South Africa.
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The content of this post is provided for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the originator/s of the "Gwara Gwara" dance, and thanks to DJ Bongz for popularizing that dance throughout the world.
Thanks to all those who are featured in this video. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of these videos on YouTube.
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/10/five-videos-of-south-african-gwara.html for more information and video examples of this dance.
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INFORMATION ABOUT THE "GWARA GWARA DANCE"
From https://www.marieclaire.co.za/celebrity/dj-bongz-gwara-gwara-become-international-dance-sensation
"DJ Bongz’ GwaraGwara Is Now A Viral Dance Sensation And You Need To Watch This Mashup"
by: Afika Jadezweni, 30 January, 2018
"A one-minute video of people from all over the world doing DJ Bongz’ Gwara Gwara has gone viral on Twitter this afternoon. This is a dance originally popularised by local house hitmaker DJ Bongz, who has been seen in many videos doing the dance either at performances or on any other regular occasion where the music is good and loud enough. And now it has become an international dance sensation.
The montage posted today on Twitter by Gagasi FM’s DJ Websta recognises the local DJ as the ‘Gwara Gwara originator’ and thanks Bongz for introducing the dance to the world.
[...]
This video comes a day after South Africans were quick to point out that one of Rihanna’s dance moves during her Grammy Awards performance* was in fact DJ Bongz’ Gwara Gwara (along with the Ghanian azonto) and not the stanky leg as international media initially claimed.
-snip-
In the discussion thread for this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tj9pBAXJXzM, commenter Vodacom Mkhize (2016) responded to the question "What does "Gwara Gwara" means with this statement:
"It's a bird, it's a variation of gwala gwala/ligwalagwala/igwalagwala, a Zulu/Ndebele bird (maybe an African parrot) which was used by kings like Shaka to honour a brave person. The dance is from the moves of the bird, but it's better to ask the inventors anyway."
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SHOWCASE VIDEO: Nigerians murder South African dance step Gwara Gwara (aii zenze) *Subscribe*
eloswag, Published on Mar 30, 2017
Nigerian act "Eloswag dances with friend's PG x Shalom in new video
[...]
Music: "Zenze (feat. Eddy Tussa
-snip-
In this title the word “murder” is an African American Vernacular English term that means "to dance very well".
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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THIS VIDEO'S DISCUSSION THREAD
All of these selected comments are from 2017.
In addition to comments about the dancing and the music, I'm particularly interested in examples of the use of African American Vernacular English, Nigerian Pidgin English, and Mzansi Kasi (South African township) slang.
These comments are numbered for referencing purposes only.
1. eloswag
"wanna apologize for not dancing the Gwara Gwara steps till the end, i just needed to promote us all (Africa as a whole) i love South Africans as much as i love the rest of Africa, So im dropping an apology dance Video for the Southy peeps, Nasty C's NDA #anticipate and please SUBSCRIBE LOTS OF LOVE PEOPLE AFRICA TO THE WORLD, Btw I'm Nigerian, please check my other videos"
**
Reply
2. LoveDancePray319
"eloswag we still love you!! I am proudly African before I am South African!! Y'all killed the dancing especially the guy in black!"
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Reply
3. sweetnurse mcgee
"eloswag Yo no apology is needed let me just say I am grateful that your making videos about African dances. As a Black in U.S I yearn for more exposure to my ancestors culture!!! Thank you.."
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4. anele mtiki
"eloswag apology accepted bro😊go on do your thing homie. one Africa for all"
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5. MzRas Kandi
"eloswag the dude in black. boy u did that. take it from a South African, u really convinced me. keep spreading the love all over Africa 😍"
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6. Thula Nyoni
"Whetin! This be no gwaragwara oga abeg!"
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7. Trisha Dichabe
"This isn't even close to gwara if you search up gwara gwara dance South Africa they will show you the real ting"
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8. arinic7
"Jamaicans been doing those dances"
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9. Adel Ades
"Not gwara gwara I guess, but still gotta love 9ja peeps! :)"
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10. Cet'Ani Sfaqi
"see where Chris get his moves from"
-snip-
"Chris" = African American R&B singer Chris Brown, who is known for his dancing skills
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11. Joice Boa
"That's kuduro from: Angola"
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12. Zwavhudi Mulelu
"Aye aye aye guy in black got moves..."
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13. landy ntshangase
"ehhh the slim guy though, ahhh ma guy you killed whatever dance you were doing, but that's not even close to Gwara Gwara... babazani bo!"
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14. Tumizasation Tumi
"the guy in black killed it, but was not gwara gwara, i like his moves they similar to sbojwa dance"
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15. Sofia Ingles
"This music is from Angola and not South Africa my fellow africans :). So proud of your moves!!!"
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16. Maria da costa
"why are they dancing to an Angolan song looool dis is eddy tusa aii zenze...
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17. eloswag
"is the song restricted to only Angolans???"
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18. Maria da costa
"eloswag why as in oh wow. not why as in you're not allowed. would be nice if they could state its an Angolan song."
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19. obytrys
"looks like they are Ghanaians.. dance and appearance wise..."
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Reply
20. eloswag
"we Nigerians , schooling in Ghana"
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21. Johannes Fredriks
"whats the name of the artist ans title of the song?"
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Reply
22. Ai Vert
"Johannes Fredriks :
DJ Malvado ft Edy Tussa - Zenze"
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23. Mireille Kiala
"eloswag, this dance and music is from Angola and not South Africa. The dance is called kuduro and the song is sang in Angolan slang (Portuguese and broken Portuguese)!"
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24. Mireille Kiala
"Janeth Camara, thank you 😊! Our famous kuduro dance is very popular in Angola, plus the song is sang in Portuguese and Angolan slang!"
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25. jenny myself
"Who cares they killed it"
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26. Wendy Mabinuori
"the guy in black is jus too effortless abeg! too mad! :D and yes its not all gwara gwara but he did it still and killed it!"
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27. Thobeka Shabane
"don't worry, its still good and I'm South African. :-) ."
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28. ewashington4178
"Siyabonga for the dance..."
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29. sunmisola adebayo
"chai"
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30. Natalie Nice
"the guy in the black...hes sick with it.."
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31. Ifeoluwa Busola
d guy in black killed it😍😍😍
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Reply
32. Onkarabetse Mosopa
"Ifeoluwa Busola too much"
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33. Pumeza Ganto
"nobody can define better gwara moves for us I'm sorry. first of all south African moves are not about violently twitching.....we prefer throwing our swag smoothly check the blessers party.And I repeat as long as you are dancing to other music you won't nail our style. it's like trying to dance azonto to Justin biebers I'm sorry song.I know we have the most amazing and adorable moves also that any dance style from any country we are able to master,but I know for a fact south African moves are tough to master for other people.we dance shoki dance to Ghana or naija music not south African music, we also dance to kwassa dance and tombolo to Congolese music Bcoz that's how the dance moves come from.
So please don't explain our judgement to us.we know this....you're the one who doesn't. one thing these dancers have is flexibity at least."
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Reply
34. Audrey Gene
"Pumeza Ganto chill,we know the gwara dance is yo stuff...Africa is huge nd we learn from different countries nd their people different things..I personally think that it was really cool of them to try out what South Africa does..im proud that at least even if we dont really know abt each others cultures,we are all African nd AT LEAST we unite through our music nd dance...if we can't unite through what brings humanity together..music nd dancing nd be one Africa,who will? Don't get me wrong,i get what u mean..but just try to have more fun nd don't take it personal..Positivity is good stuff!😜😀😀👍"
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35. Leah Princess
"Pumeza Ganto 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂from ANY COUNTRY?😂😂😂😂"
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36. DeeDee Nicole 123
"Haters in this comment section they did a bit of it not the whole thing.. Maybe if you finished watching the video then you would know it was like a snippet of it !!!! Smh"
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37. KWEEN YAA ASANTEWAA
"AYYYE GIVE US THAT WORK KING!!!!!"
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38. Avida Myers
"Big Shout Out to Africa 👊❤"
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39. one uup
"I thought someone literally got killed. Folks need to start using the right words about what is going on."
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40. YouAwakeYet
"I thought Nigerians killed a South African dancer, I'm glad its actual dancing"
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41. Laddy Gibbions
"Why don't some African people look
and Dress their culture?. They look
like American Black
people!. Be authentic
Quit assimilating into
the American culture!.
Stop it I love the way
it was in Africa 60
years ago with culture
and dress!."
**
42. RedboiC
"you have enough hating internet trolls commenting so I'll say this.. keep doing you man. Y'all killed those dance moves period so keep dancing and making people mad in the process. Stay up, God Bless"
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43. Trei Godhead
"this no gwara gwara but they sure can dance"
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Reply
44. Red Carded
"whether it was or not, it was danced better than some pips I usually see on youtube, so well done to the guy in black,"
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45. Rosalia Endjila
"The guy in the black 🔥🔥🔥"
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46. Edson Paunde
"this is Angolan. Kuduro. atleast the music. Portuguese is being spoken here"
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Reply
47. Manuel Malungo
"Edson Paunde The language in the song is actually kimbundo, one of the local languages in Angola, not Portuguese."
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Reply
48. Antoniela Da Silva
"Plus this isn't kuduro more like house"
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49. Pumeza Ganto
"what is nonsense? That they are flexible but aren't dancing our moves? Please go and sit down.if they invent a dance move for Nigeria and practice that one and showcasing that maybe us non nigerians can appreciate their undiluted talent.you want us to agree that this is how we do ? coz it's not.And they should have been expecting critic when they put their video out.so they should shut up and deliver. of course they are gifted but not in south African kind of gifted.are you mad Bcoz Nigeria has not yet had their own original disco dance moves? it's not about nationality....it's about honesty.it's not about illiteracy....or genius, it's about the title they put out." nigerians killing south African dance" which ain't the case. nothing south African was showcased and nothing was killed. And yes we know Azonto is Ghanaian, gwara bhenga are south African, tombolo and kwassa is Congolese.....what then is nigerian? so until authenticate naija stuff is showcased we will talk we won't let no one snub our art.enough with fakery forgery and 419 moves for once be synthetic or be willing to learn.I'm south African by the way.....And how's your day so far?"
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50. DeeDee Nicole 123
"Bro it was there like just a little snippet of it they didn't do it on the whole damn video smh don't hate, appreciate good dance moves"
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51. Phindile Phindile
"I will never understand guys who feel comfortable doing this dance move 0:59"
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52. Samson Idoko
"Phindile Phindile It's just dance. It's an art and it can come in any form. You need to understand dance first and what it entails."
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53. celyncapo
"Phindile Phindile I was thinking the same thing . He was doing soo good until he started popping his booty like a girl at the club.. he had me 😍 until then .. they can dance their butts of tho"
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54. Chief Jay Binns
"OMG, Only AMERICANS feel this way. #Culture"
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55. celyncapo
"Chief Jay Binns I love how y'all always say get some culture but you guys copy the way hwe rap and how we dress.. lmao"
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Reply
56. Chief Jay Binns
"celyncapo thanks for the compliment, but I'm actually a
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57. lorrenzo mokgosana
"i like the moves ,one love Africa"
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58. Daughter of Zion
"Dude in the black is lit🔥"
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59. BoogiMan Ultrasphinx
"You this is so hot I'm an African American and this just shows how much all Africans are alike! this could have been Jamaicans, Trinidadian, Brazilian....we're all the same! keep them coming...and please post the songs and the artists. I need those songs! Peace and love from Brooklyn U.S."
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60. Mbali
"A Nigerian cannot say it's better than SA in dance. And SA cannot say it's better than Nigeria in dance. You see where I'm going with this? Bias"
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61. Melanie Ayako
"Man I love my people!"
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62. Zee G
"haahhahahahahhahahahahhaah u must be joking ey, is not even close to Gwara gwara"
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Reply
63. Nqobile Mabaso
"Zee G my thoughts exactly"
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Reply
64. Lotoya Peart
"Zee G hater"
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Reply
65. Zee G
"Latoya are you for real, what to hate here"
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Reply
66. Lotoya Peart
"They rocking !!!!! Except the boy with his shirt off. Can you dance like that ? I think not !!! Stop hating it's a serious crime ...lol"
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67. Pumeza Ganto
"flexible dancers....yes.south African moves....no.if you guys want to excel take the critic.sorry we won't smother you with lies.go back to the drawing table....look at south African dance moves,practice and make other videos then you'll be good. the group of guys from Maputo master our pantsula dance moves like that they danced to dj cleos music."
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Reply
68. Imagine Wonderz
"I loved it either way tho. I get what you're saying , they shouldn't label it as thing if it isn't but I just love to see them enjoying dancing."
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69. Yessenia Roca
"still dope... made me wanna dance lol"
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70. ZUKISWA BABALWA Nonkunzi
" I came for our gwaragwara there's no gwaragwara here...I'm not surprised hence no one can do our dance better than us"
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71. Hishee Ward
"I love my Nigerian long distance family shots out from America"
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72. C. Diamonds
"I don't give a rat behind if they're not doing the full gwara gwara they all dance damn good.
I'm looking at the background, land and house and felt like I was "home".
One Love to Africa and all Africans.✊❤"
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73. lulu 111
"Work it"
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74. Tamires Mango
"c'est du kuduru"
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75. Bernadette Madondo
"I can't believe these dance moves have turned into S.A vs the rest of Africa. NOBODY claimed anything, they just said they "murdered the gwara gwara" in their statement. Some people here need to chill...we don't need xenophobia on dancing too.
Dude in black, you flexible...and tall brother, I need that waist!!!"
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76. Tay Diva
"Showing some love from the USA. Keep the culture Alive😍😍😍😍😍😍"
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77. pretty selected
"unity ✌💃💃💃💃 loving it all the way from South Africa 😉 even though there's not much of gwara gwara going on haha"
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78. Sauvageee
"The only person that murdered anything is the guy in black."
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79. junior torres
"Beyonce and Chakira can you see how is done"
-snip-
Beyonce- African American R&B superstar who is also known for her dancing; Chakira (Shakira), Brazilian Pop singer who is also known for her dancing
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80. SIYABULELA JAMELA
"Love and support from South Africa. We need to stick and learn to our cultures rather than copying Americans. Good work brother!"
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81. Okoye Paul
"eloswag be killing it!!!!"
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Reply
82. Rashad hellooo woorld
"They did not kill this at all..👎"
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83. Sydney Malatsi
"Great moves. I like the energy. Good choice of music. Sounds Angolan ..I know this because Angolan dance beat is very similar to our dance beats (South Africa). Great to see Nigeria also embracing the beat. Much love"
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84. dee dee johnson
"which one is eloswag the guy in all black or the guy in the blue jeans?"
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Reply
85. Chris Macdonald
"dee dee johnson obviously the Nigerian guy in all black."
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86. sweetlike candy
"i love how african guys move they hips.... its so sexy... stiff ass american men just wanna pop and nae nae and dab [profanity abbreviation deleted]!!!"
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87. noxizle 4 shizle
"Hahahaha , Mzansi kasi dance can not be replicated in Nigeria, its not the same. Nigerians are never going to dance better than South Africans with regard to this music. COME AGAIN BRAH. Stop lying...
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87. Priscella McPherson
"oh wow! I know some Jamaicans who move like this! This is where all the rhythm come from, the countries of Africa!"
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88. rizaan E
"This is lit🔥🔥 I love the fact that y'all tried to do what we do😋 let's learn from one another"
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89. Nothile Mhlongo
"I knew this was going to be some mess. Please Nigeria, for the sake of Everyone, Invent your moves and just stick to that. Leave South African moves alone, leave Ghana moves alone. Just do You."
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Reply
90. Kamar G
"Chill. No need for fighting. We are all African or in my case African descended. I am African American and we started most music forms in the States but all those forms have roots in Africa and when I see you dance it reminds me of how we dance and I see the connection. Much respect to you all and keep sharing the gifts...btw...brother in the black tore it up. He made me want to get in the video and put my spin on it. And who is this song by?"
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91. Zandile Dlamini
"I'm South African. I loved this 🙌🏽🙌🏽 The fusion of cultures is awesome!!"
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92. prettyslim2010
"all while having flip flops on! 😂
y'all go with your bad selves"
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93. John McClenon
"Music reminds me of Osibisa from the 70's!"
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94. My Opinion
"Please.......we were doing lots of those moves in the gay clubs years ago."
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95. Zurisadai Hernandez
"Am I the only one that feels like I'm listening to cumbia..? Like Celia is about to rise up from her grave.. Lol.."
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96. Titayamileth Lourenco
"Well 😒😳😏I didn't know that Nigeria do. sing in Kimbundu ( or North Mbundu, one of Bantu languages spoken in Angola 🇦🇴) I 👂🏾 a mix of Semba and Kuduro. You can search for yourself cames from Angola 🇦🇴 too 😁😁"
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97. Chattown
"yeah The one in the BLK did that..."
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98. HAVE FUN WITHYOURSTYLES
"Yes the one in black gave me life...... I love his moves"
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99. Phronesis7
"They killed it alright, but please take the Gwara Gwara and SA out of the description. They didnt even do the Gwara Gwara!"
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100. denike
"Why are you upset with us na. atleast we tried. oya show me nija dance, can u do azonto, or galala, or shoki or swor.......anyone? you see"
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