Babes Wodumo ft Mampintsha - "Wololo" (with a YouTube reaction video by The Ubinufu Space)

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest update: Feb. 10, 2021

This pancocojams post showcases the official YouTube video of the 2016 South African song "Wololo" as well as a YouTube reaction vlog (video blog) to that official video from a group of young Black men and women of African descent who live in the United Kingdom.

Information about that song and its performers is included in this post along with selected comments from the YouTube discussion thread for those two videos. These selected comments are some of the comments from that discussion thread which focus on the song, its performers, its music genre, and the dance that is usually performed for this song.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Babes Wodumo and Mampintsha for their music and for this video. Thanks also to the Ubunifu Space (United Kingdom team) for their publishing a reaction video to this South African song. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.
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Note that this post provides information about the South African song "Wololo" and its official YouTube video. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/08/comments-about-south-african-meanings.html for a companion pancocojams post that focuses on the South African meanings of the word "wololo').

Also, note that the word "wololo" in this South African song doesn't have the same meaning as the  word "wololo" in the Age Of Empire games.
" KnowYourMeme says: (2013)
"Wololo is the sound made by the Priest unit in the 1997 video game Age of Empires. It is used as an interruptor, causing the color of something to change colors between red and blue." https://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/1vnug5/whats_a_wololo/

Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Empires for information about The Age Of Empires video games.

Here's a comment exchange from 2020 & 2021 that provides an explanation of what "Wololo" means in this South African song:

kelvin giathi
"wololo in Kenya means suprise and shock at something insane.

I think this is it wololo salalaaaaa"

**
Reply
Ebekezela Construction, 2021
"Pretty much the same in isiZulu 😊"

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE 2016 SOUTH AFRICAN SONG "WOLOLO"
The official YouTube video for Babes Wodumo ft Mampintsha's dance song "Wololo" was published on YouTube on June 24, 2016 by West Ink TV Mampintsha. Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlkybvVEQ4g for that video.*

The song's lyrics are in isiZulu and from KwaZulu Natal (Durban, South African) slang. "Wololo" is an example of South Africa's Gqom music..

Reflecting the fact that "Wololo" is a mega hit in South Africa as well as in many other African nations and elsewhere in the world, the official YouTube video for that song has gone viral with 8,568,467 total views (as of August 2, 2018 at 6:35 PM EST).

Update: As of Feb. 10, 2021 at 9:33 AM ET, this video has a total # of 11,496,865 views. 

-end of update-

Babes Wodumo ft Mampintsha's song "Wololo" isn't well known in the United States. However, to the extent that this song is known, that familiarity can be largely attributed to its inclusion in the 2018 blockbuster hit movie Black Panther (in the beginning of the scene when T'Challa walks into his sister's lab).

Here's a link to a clip of that scene https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZ9nxj54P_s&ab_channel=CUTV [This is an updated link as the previous link is no longer available.]

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A SYNOPSIS OF AND COMMENTS ABOUT THE SONG "WOLOLO"
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tiXWkfUeHk "Babes Wodumo ft Mampintsha - Wololo ( REACTION VIDEO )"

Ngasiirwe Katushabe, 2017
"Hey! Ngasii the Context Kid here with some context once again:

So this song is pretty simple because qùte a bit of it is really ad-libbing. It is performed in Zulu by Babes Wo-doo-mo and Mam-pin-cha (The nguni "tsha" is pronounced "cha") with the beat by DJ duo the Distruction Boyz. They are from the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa.

The first part of Babes' chorus is her singing about how her friend fell asleep in studio as they were working and woke up the next day lost as to where they were:

lale ilalilale [ad-libbing]
wavuk'ek'seni, awaz'ulalephi
(you woke up in the morning not knowing where you sleep)
x2

The second part is her giving thanks and praise to the people who she credits for having made her career the success it is; those people being SA House Legend DJ Tira and the peoole of his label Afrotainement as well as her mentor and bae Mampintsha of the iconic House Band Big Nuz who owns the label West Ink:

Weh Tira, sigcwele ngawe
(Yo Tira, we feel you)
Abafana base Afro sigcwele ngabo
(The guys/men from Afro(tainment), we feel them)
Weh Mpintsho, sgcwele ngawe
(Yo Mpintsho [a nickname for Mampintsha], we feel you)
Abafana base West Ink, sigcwele ngabo
(The guys from West Ink, we feel them)
Abafana base Afro benz'amas*mba
(The guys from Afro do their s*%t/ the damn thing)
Abafana base West Ink benz'amawololo wololo wololo wololo wololo wololo wololo wololo wololo
(The guys from West Ink doing their the damn thing)

NB: "Wololo" is actually more an ad-libbed word that can change meaning but thanks to Babes nkw [typo correction: now] generally refers to the way she uses it in this song.

South African languages like Xhosa and Zulu invent new words for emphasis on things everyday, many of which coming about as a result of the sound of something or the feeling of what is meant.

Side Note:

The choreography in the video is by Babes and the dancers. She has a dance academy called the West Ink School of Dance in KZN that caters to artistic people be it singers, dancers, actors, models and the like which she was part of opening to give back to her community and have people who are not academically inclined thrive in life and make a living for their families.

Other-side note (*Adele pun*😂)

Her name "Babes Wodumo" roughly means "Girl of Fame".

"Babes" is her kid name probably inspired by her name Bongekile . "Wodumo" was added later as she was "famous" for singing, dancing, acting, modelling etc capabilites from a young age all around her hometown on Lamontville, KZN

In South Africa, when asked, "uDume Ngani?" you are asked,"What's your claim to fame".

Shout out to The guys of Ubunifu Space for continuing to show Mzansi love 💪"


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SHOWCASE VIDEO #1: Babes Wodumo ft Mampintsha - Wololo (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)



West Ink TV Mampintsha, Published on Jun 24, 2016

Music video produced for West Ink by Pilot Films 2016
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WARNING: This video may be considered inappropriate for children because of its focus on women shaking their butts.
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Here are selected comments from this video's discussion thread.As a reminder, these are examples of comments from that discussion thread which focus on the song's music genre and the dance that is usually performed for this song. In addition, these selected comments focus on other information about the popularity of this song and its subsequent use in social and commercial media.

These comments are presented in relative chronological order based on their publishing date with the oldest year comments given first, except for replies.

Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.
1. Lindiwe Moloi, 2017
"OMG this song is known by primary kids.. its our nation anthem😂😂😂😁😁"

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2. Christopher Clay, 2017
"What is this genre called?"

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REPLY
3. Emmanuel Mukhondo, 2027
"Gqom"

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4. Lonwabo Matross, 2017
"Gwara Gwara dance was made for this song"

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5. Thinamazulu Zulu, 2017
"Note that the video was shot in the height of winter (A Durban winter nonetheless) that's why guys are wearing long sleeved tops and the girls are in bikinis. Gotta keep it sexy yo. Dope track nonetheless."
-snip-
Here's an excerpt from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durban
"Durban... is the third most populous city in South Africa—after Johannesburg and Cape Town—and the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. Located on the east coast of South Africa, Durban is famous for being the busiest port in the country. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism because of the city's warm subtropical climate and extensive beaches."...

**
6. Sandile Tembe, 2017
"its very sad that babes wodumo didn't win any award in SAMA awards 2017 😕😕😕"
-snip-
Here's information about the SAMA award from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Music_Awards
"The South African Music Awards (often simply the SAMAs) are the Recording Industry of South Africa's music industry awards, established in 1995. The ceremony is held in late-April or May every year, with the judging process starting in November of the previous year. The nominations are typically announced at the end of March. The winners receive a gold-plated statuette called a SAMA.[1]

The show has mostly been held at the Super Bowl in Sun City, with the exception of three years, and broadcast live on national broadcaster, SABC. The ceremony features live performances as once-off collaborations by a selection of nominees. The SAMAs are considered the South African equivalent of the American Grammy Awards."

**|
7. Sizwe Nzama, 2017
"6 million viewers and not even one award ayi they are playing with babes"
-snip-
As of the date of this post's publication [August 2, 2018], the official video has 8,568,467 views

**
8. Sibisi Mxolisi, 2017
"sisi noma bengakudlela umona shame u ar the star anyway u dnt need the stupid award you have us. everthing with south african has corruption so u dnt need them now uzohlanganisi 6 million views on youtube so dnt stress go to bet on show them who you are ngyazifela ngawe there is no music in mzansi ngaphandle kwa babes"

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9. Rabotlhoko Tlhabane, 2017
"Trust me cousin, this track is overrated and overhyped! Any Lento by Professor ft Speedy destroys this Wololo....
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I think the word "any" is a typo for "and". Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=og5InvyyhYY for a video of the South African song Professor "Lento" ft Speedy which was published on YouTube in 2011.

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REPLY
10. Flakka Goat,
"no it doesn't, gqom tunes bring out inner ratchetry you can't get that type of energy from soft ass songs like lento.,

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REPLY
11. sipho mvandaba, 2017
"stop hating bra"

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REPLY
12. Rabotlhoko Tlhabane, 2017
"Hating? No old friend.. It's me opinion but Lento is better than this track"

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13. Sonia, 2018
"Thank you black panther for bringing me here to this amazing song and video"

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14. David Yvan, 2018
"Yoo, this was in black panther!"

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REPLY
15. chukwudalu ibe, 2018
"It's an African song"

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REPLY
16. Mikaela Creedence, 2018
"Ben Grazuca watch Black Panther... it’s during Shuri’s lab scene"
-snip-
The comment from Ben Grazuca no longer appears in this comment thread, but one response indicated that he had insulted Americans for our lack of knowledge about this song. i.e. from Mikaela Creedence, 2018 "Ben Grazuca mmm sad 🤷🏽‍♀️ you clearly live a sad life, anyway I’m Canadian so you insulting Americans doesn’t hurt me"

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REPLY
17. Faith Jonathan, 2018
"Ben Grazuca i think what he meant is that this song was featured on Black Panther and gain more attention...they played it on Shuri's Lab"

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18. Vegas Element, 2018
"O.K....so I see how South African Afrobeat differs from Nigerian...I love African music. Damn it I need to visit! Love from Las Vegas."

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REPLY
19. Mwafrika Mkenya, 2018
"Vegas Element Actually this is a version of Afro-house. There are two main versions ,Angolan 'Kuduro' music and this south African 'gqom' Music."
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I'm adding this comment, although according to what I've read online, Gqom is a separate music genre from House music (or Kwaito). For example, read a comment exchange from the discussion thread for the South African hit song "Omunye" that I've quoted below in the comment section for this post.

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20. y2k, 2018
"What dialect or language are they speaking in?"

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REPLY
21. Bhekuyise Mbele,2018
"It's called isiZulu (one of South African official languages), but it's not that pure, it's mixed with local tsotsi (gangsta) slang as it is used here"

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #2: Babes Wodumo ft Mampintsha - Wololo ( REACTION VIDEO ) || @BABESWODUMO @MampintshaNuz



The Ubunifu Space, Published on Jun 28, 2017

The Ubunifu team back again with another reaction video!

This is the UK half of the Ubunifu team

Doing Our #UbuReach where we react to a song different to the region we normally do. We will only do this once in a while, but it brings something different and maybe new to our viewers.

This is our reaction to a South African Song: Babes Wodumo ft Mampintsha - Wololo
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Here's information about The Ubunifu Space from the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/UbunifuSpace/
"The Ubunifu Space, January 30, 2018

Made up of two teams.

Based in London, UK & Nairobi, Kenya

We have created a digital space where we showcase & share the different sounds & creative arts of young Africans from within the African continent & also in diaspora, so we can show and create links for Africans from across the continent and the world!"
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*Note that some scenes in the Babes Wodumo ft Mampintsha - "Wololo" video may not be suitable for children.
-snip-
Here are selected comments from this video's discussion thread.As a reminder, these selected comments are some of the comments from that discussion thread which focus on the song, its performers, its music genre, and the dance that is usually performed for this song.

These comments are presented in relative chronological order based on their publishing date with the oldest year comments given first, except for replies.

Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.
1. Nompumelelo Kubheka, 2017
"Thank you Ubunifu team for giving a reaction to this video. Babes Wodumo got a BET ward nomination for this song and from your reaction to it, I am not surprised why this song has been recognized internationally. She's a newcomer in the SA music industry and we love her."

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2. Lady T, 2017
"@Ubunifu Space...this song Graced the UK screens on a smirnoff advert about 3 months ago.Such a dope advert!!How did you miss that??#Wololo#"

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3. Nokwanda BongyNGIDI, 2017
"Yes it is the song kids dance too in SA that really went viral and still is a hit. Thanks guys you so much fun to watch you react to one of our South african music."

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4. sphamandla cyril, 2017
"LOL that sound of music is called "GQOM" and the lyrics were in IsiZulu,it is slightly different from South African house music though. It did serve as a GQOM beat that went viral and had South African kids dancing to."...
-snip-
This comment continued with a request for this team to publish a vlog "reaction" to two other South African contemporary songs. Many of the comments in this discussion thread were similar "please react to" requests. This is indicated in this compilation by the ellipses ["..."] at the end of those comments.

**
5. Keabetswe Ngoaku, 2017
"hey FAM, yebo it is this song.
mampintsha is pronounced as mam-pinch-a😂😂😂"
-snip-
"FAM" is an African American Vernacular English term that is short for "family".

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6. zakhe nokuthula Mthembu, 2017
"yasssss! this went in... even the guy that is never impressed was dancing from jump"

**
7. Boitshoko Tshabile, 2017
"YES COME TO SA!!! I wouldnt mind hosting you guys in johannsburg. AND YES it is the song with that went viral. its a genre in south africa of music called Gqom originating in our westal coast of Durban, that dance is called GwaraGwara"

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8. sihle kwanini, 2017
"Love you guys🙈🙌🏾🙌🏾😂 The song is in Zulu. Mampintsha is pronounced Mampincha....like pinch. Y'all most definitely visit SA especially in the summer💃🏿💃🏿 amaWololo is doing the damn thaaaaang"

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9. PAUL KULCHA #KingOfKwaito, 2017
"that's our Kwaito dance music called Gqom ."...
-snip-
A number of commenters on various YouTube discussion threads about Gqom music indicate that that music genre isn't the same as the South African music genres "Kwaito" or "House".

**
10. SkirozTV, 2017
"Ha ha ha ...great reaction guys especially since this is our current club sound banger called Gqom' in South Africa!"

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11. Percy Mashao, 2017
"They famous dance Gwaragwara pronounced ( Gwah rah Gwah rah) is mostly danced to with this song and it was made by Dj bongz."

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12. Sanele Gcabashe, 2017
"Lovely guys...this was one the major hits of the year (2016) crossing over all genres. Yes lyrics are in Zulu, it is a proper turn up jam!"..."

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13. Busiswa Maphalala, 2017
"New Subbie. Yes they were singing in Zulu and they are from KwaZulu Natal this type of music is called igQhomu. I'm Zulu and the parties this side are always lit like that!"....

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14. Josephine Jaruha, 2017
"This music was more of dance moves than singing"

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REPLY
15. Bil Guil Media & Entertainment, 2017
"Josephine Jaruha that was the idea, clever you"

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16. zingrosa, 2017
"Love your energy in this vid!!!!! No one can resist the beat of this song"

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17.
Lindo Kuhle, 2017
"Wololo!!! Proof yet again that wololo was the biggest song in SA. This was the first applause from the guys for a SA song... the energy is unmistakable and it is infectious! Wolololo!!!"

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18. cebisile mabaso, 2017
"Can we please have a moment of prayer for the people who dislike the video."

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19. MTHABISI INNOCENT Marapani, 2017
"They really enjoyed this song more than any they have reacted to."

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20. Libahle Langeni, 2017
"That is the songs beat the dance is called the gwara gwara dance"

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21. Lala Vetro, 2018
"I was just happy when they used this song in Black Panther"

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