The evolution of a song. Waka Waka by Shakira was the official song of the World Cup in Johannesburg last year. It was a monster hit & viral on YouTube with over 300M views.
The Waka Waka part was based on a song by a Cameroon band called Golden Sounds. They dressed in spoof military costumes & the song was a regional hit after 1986.
It moved across the ocean to Columbia & was a smash there as well.
That is where Shakira & her producer were familiar with it. She recorded it & the producer felt it needed more African content for the World Cup. He enlisted Fab Dupont in NYC (a buddy) who just happened to be tracking new songs for a South African band called
Freshlyground. He got the rough tracks & added some solo & background vocals. Their contribution is on the official Fifa video. I have a copy of his original mix btw which has more SA influence than the final release.
There is also a Spanish version . . .
Shakira's release of the Waka Waka song on her CD omits Freshlyground. The African version remains a very popular march song for bands, schools & the military in Central Africa. Ain't YouTube great?
Ian