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The Kiffness

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David Scott
Birth nameDavid Scott
Also known asThe Kiffness
Born (1988-02-11) 11 February 1988 (age 36)[1]
Cape Town, South Africa
Genres
OccupationMusician
Years active2013–present
Websitethekiffness.com
YouTube information
Personal information
NationalitySouth African
Subscribers2,750,000
(14 September 2024)
100,000 subscribers2021
1,000,000 subscribers2022
EducationUniversity of the Witwatersrand, Rhodes University

David Scott (born 11 February 1988), also known by his stage name the Kiffness,[2] is a South African musician, producer, and parody artist who is the founder and lead singer of the band the Kiffness.[3][4] Despite the band's name, Scott is referred to as the Kiffness alone.[5][6]

Early life and career

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In 2004, Scott was a member of the KwaZulu-Natal Youth Choir.[7] He was educated at Michaelhouse school and went to the University of the Witwatersrand to study medicine.[8] However, he dropped out and switched to studying music and philosophy at Rhodes University while working as a DJ and playing in a jazz band.[8] In 2013, he released his first single, "Where are You Going?", with Matthew Gold, which made the 5FM Top 40.[8] Their album Kiff was nominated at the 21st South African Music Awards in 2015 and again in 2017.[9][10]

Scott usually performs wearing a floral custom suit that he had made in Vietnam, with material selected by his wife and himself, as it resembled his grandmother's curtains.[11]

Scott creates satirical songs that are mostly aimed at South African political issues. In 2017, he released a track called "White Privilege" as an attempt to make white South Africans more socially aware.[12] In 2018, he filmed a video for his Afrikaans song "Pragtig Meisie", with a picture of the Afrikaner nationalist singer Steve Hofmeyr's face on a blow-up doll.[12]

In 2019, Scott banned the South African Broadcasting Corporation from playing his music when it emerged they had not been paying musicians for playing their songs, and he alleged he was owed R60,000.[13] The same year, he launched a solo career.[14] In 2020, the Kiffness parodied the national anthem of South Africa for a song called "Nkosazan' Dlamini Trafficker", as part of criticism of Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma's ban on the sale of cigarettes during the COVID-19 lockdown.[15][5] Then-mayor of Ekurhuleni, Mzwandile Masina, criticised Scott for this, claiming it was racist.[16] Scott and Masina later discussed it over the phone, with the musician defending his work as satire.[16] He also wrote other lockdown parody songs[2] and created a spoof of "Jerusalema" aimed at the Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema, following EFF activists attacking Clicks shops over a shampoo advertisement that they considered racist.[17]

In late 2020, Scott collaborated with Turkish musician Bilal Göregen in a remix of Göregen's rendition of "Ievan polkka" that went viral on YouTube.[18] In 2021, he created a song parodying Miriam Makeba's "The Click Song" to assist people with pronouncing the new names of Port Elizabeth, King William's Town, and Maclear after the South African government changed them.[19]

In September 2024, Scott produced a video satirising a claim made by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in that month's presidential debate. Trump repeated unverified reports that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating cats and dogs kept as pets by members of the local community. The claim was subsequently denied by the mayor of Springfield, Rob Rue, and widely ridiculed in the media. Scott's video, "Eating the Cats", has since gone viral on social media.[20]

Activism

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In 2016, Scott paid tribute to the victims of the Orlando, Florida Pulse nightclub shooting by releasing a song called "You Say You Love Me".[21][22]

In 2021, Scott raised over R 100,000 for the SPCA in Sandton with the release of his Cat Jams EP.[23]

During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Scott supported Ukraine by remixing the Ukrainian folk song "Oi u luzi chervona kalyna", performed by Boombox frontman Andriy Khlyvnyuk. The latter cancelled his American tour to defend his country against the invasion by Russian Armed Forces.[24] Royalties from the remix were intended to go toward humanitarian aid for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.[25]

References

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  1. ^ Scott, David. "I'm feeling 32". Facebook. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b Caylor, Marilyn (27 May 2020). "Man changes the lyrics to 'Sound of Silence' and has internet cracking up with his version". Seeitlive.co. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  3. ^ Braganza, Caroline de (13 December 2020). "David Scott, founder of the local South African band The Kiffness, has kept our spirits up since…". Medium. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  4. ^ "When your beats are so kiff your domestic can't resist". Cape Town Etc. 20 June 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  5. ^ a b Nkanjeni, Unathi (27 May 2020). "WATCH | The Kiffness takes aim at Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in national anthem spoof". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Christmas Kiffness' Three Kings Parody and Interview". SA People. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  7. ^ Ingram, Adcock (3 April 2020). "Watch The Kiffness sing his Ode of Blessing for South African HealthCare Professionals and Allied Healthcare workers". News24. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  8. ^ a b c "Kiff interview with The Kiffness, who got Trump to do the Jerusalema, gave Gretha personality". Biz News. 15 October 2020. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  9. ^ "South African Music Awards nominees announced". Mail & Guardian. 12 March 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  10. ^ "2017 Best Pop Album Nominee: The Kiffness – Kiff". SA Music Awards. 27 November 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  11. ^ Singer, Toni Jaye (14 November 2020). "Awww! The Kiffness lent his famous suit to a fan for their matric farewell". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  12. ^ a b Andersen, Nic (28 November 2018). "Pragtig Meisie: The Kiffness trolls Steve Hofmeyr in ridiculous treffer". The South African. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  13. ^ Zeeman, Kyle (6 August 2019). "No pay is not kiff: The Kiffness gives SABC no pay, no play ultimatum". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  14. ^ "The Kiffness' David Scott goes solo". KFM. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  15. ^ Baxter, Jenni (25 May 2020). "Watch South Africa's Hilarious New National Anthem by The Kiffness". SA People. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  16. ^ a b Bhengu, Cebelihle (29 May 2020). "The Kiffness and mayor Mzwandile Masina clash over 'racist' national anthem remix". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  17. ^ "'Julius Malema (Jerusalema Parody)' puts The Kiffness in the firing line". IOL. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  18. ^ Myers, Martin (22 January 2021). "#MusicExchange: Rapid-fire Q&A with SA's coolest oddball The Kiffness". The South African. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  19. ^ Zeeman, Kyle (25 February 2021). "How do you say that? The Kiffness has this neat trick to learning the new name for PE". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  20. ^ van den Heever, Megan (16 September 2024). "Pro-Trump? The Kiffness sets record straight on 'Eating the Cats' clip". The South African – via MSN.
  21. ^ "Love: SA's Gayest Ever Music Video". Mamba Online. 29 July 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  22. ^ "The Kiff Interview". Knysna-Plett Herald. 11 July 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  23. ^ "The Kiffness makes an EP using cat sounds called Cat Jams, with 50% of its revenue going to Sandton SPCA". Texx and the City. August 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  24. ^ "The Kiffness goes viral! Check out his Ukrainian folk song [video]". The South African. 7 March 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  25. ^ "Instagram". Instagram. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
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