How a high school student got a song sampled by Chris Brown - 'I ...

A star is born. Naledi Aphiwe never thought a video of her singing, captured by her teacher, would be used by American musician Chris Brown.

There's a lot going on in the South African music industry, locally and abroad. With the latest Grammy nominations featuring the likes of Musa Keys and Tyla, and amapiano stars continues to break records, every week brings something new. 

And for one student, it brought a lot of international stardom.

Imagine being in class one day and realising that a song you sang and was posted on social media has been used by an international superstar and this person went as far as crediting you for your talents.

For Naledi Aphiwe, this isn’t a stretch to fathom anymore as it actually happened.

“I was in the classroom and it was exams. That day we were not doing anything in particular; we were actually bored. Then we decided to sing, and our class teacher came inside and we kind of fell quiet as we’re a little scared of him.

“He entered and told us to carry on with a serious look on his face and so we did. He took out his phone and filmed a small clip of us. I didn’t think much of it and when I got home my older sister showed me the video taken by Sir Bhengu and in that moment, she was more concerned with my skirt being a bit too short."

Despite the attire, Naledi found herself not being able to sleep that night as she was thrilled with the idea of being posted by her teacher, but she had no idea what was to come of it.

 “That night as I was getting ready to go sleep, my sister burst into my room saying that Chris Brown had posted the video my teacher took. My first reaction was 'aybo Njani' and so I went on his Instagram page to check if this wasn’t a scam, and it was real. He had the verification tick on his page and everything. I can't even tell you just how excited I was. I was not acting normal I think I went crazy, absolutely over the moon and then the video also went viral which just added to everything.”

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A few months after Chris Brown posted the song, he incorporated her vocals on the record Shooter which is part of his 11th studio album, 11:11.

“This is now my favourite song I can't go an hour without listening to it. I am really happy even though this is not a dream, I’m still scared that somebody will wake me up from it and all of this will turn out to not be real. I love the song though, I’ve never loved a track like this,” the young student gushes.

Major League DJz were instrumental in creating this moment as they reached out to Naledi saying they needed her number urgently.

“They messaged me on WhatsApp saying, 'Chris Brown is looking to sample that song' and I was like which song, and they said, ‘the video in the classroom, that video’ and they told me that they're going to send my number to Chris Brown's team. I waited and later that day I got a call from an unknown caller and the number was also one I am not used to seeing so I answered and heard a booming voice saying 'hey Naledi Aphiwe' and this person didn’t even pronounce my name properly. They then talked to me and my sister about everything and sent me paperwork to sign so that I would be credited.”

Her family went ballistic. Naledi currently stays with her older sister and only wishes that her late mother was still around to have experienced this moment. Her dad was also brimming with pride. This moment is one Naledi holds close to her heart.

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“My family still don’t quite believe it, but they have been amazing about it.  I do think we might have to talk about me doing dishes less now as I’m so popular,” she jokes.

Her school has also been supportive, “they were very happy for me including my principal who wished me luck and now everyone even calls me Chris Brown’s daughter at school. They were very happy for me, and I thank them all. I love them so much, from the principal to the students."

She says life has changed dramatically over the past days since the completed song was released. Naledi has gained a lot more followers on her social media pages, “people who didn't know anything about Naledi Aphiwe now do. It has changed my home situation right now and everything is good.”

She says she can’t even imagine what went through Chris Brown’s mind. If she was in his position, she may have just posted the clip and never given it a second thought and just gone about the business of being famous.

“I still can’t believe it. Chris Brown approached me to sample a video clip of mine and I wasn’t even being serious about it; we were just messing about in a spare moment in class. I still ask myself, why me? There are so many talented people out there and yet he opted to give a young girl from a small town this massive opportunity. I appreciate him so much for this.”

Naledi does have music that she worked on prior to this viral happening.

“I have two songs that I dropped this year, and this was my first year in the music industry. I wish to carry on and I have a long list of artists I would like to work with like Leah Ndlunkulu, Blaq Diamond, Mduduzi Ncube, Cici, Sbahle, the Qwabe twins. I look up to these people and I am still a huge fan of all their work."