Internationally acclaimed playwright, singer and movie producer Mbongeni Ngema has touched the last nerve of fellow media personality, Lebo M. This happened after Ngema (68) said on the King David Mashabela podcast that he helped to open the doors for Lebo M in the US during the tour of the popular stage play turned into a movie, Sarafina and also helped co-write some of the songs on The Lion King.

GIVING LEBO M A BREAK IN AMERICA

Ngema said he met Lebo M in Los Angeles when he was still a "little boy'. "I helped children of the people who had gone to exile at the time. Lebo M said he asked to be part of Sarafina, and I agreed to make him part of it," said Ngema. "God gave me a candle to light for other people," he said, as he explained how Lebo M got his big break in the US. He said Lebo M met award-winning producer, Hans Zimmer who opened doors for him, and they produced the award-winning production, The Lion King.

The Lion King production went on to win awards and raked in millions of dollars on stage and even when it was turned into a movie. Ngema said: "In Lion King, I wrote Circle of Life with Elton John and Lebo M. The song Circle of Life won a Grammy Award," . According to Wikipedia: "Circle of Life is the song from Disney's 1994 animated feature film The Lion King. Composed by English musician Elton John, with lyrics by Tim Rice, the song was performed by Carmen Twillie (the deep female lead vocals) and Lebo M (opening vocals in Zulu) as the film's opening song." However, Ngema said he did a lot for the song. "And I arranged all the other songs in Lion King," dded Ngema during the podcast. 

LEBO ANGERED BY NGEMA'S COMMENTS

But Lebo M disagreed, saying if Ngema had co-written Circle of Life, he would have had a Grammy Award "like me and Elton John". "Instead, Mbongeni has a certificate from the Grammy Awards" he said. Lebo M said the certificate Ngema received was for being part of a song, and not as a songwriter. Mbongeni insisted during the podcast that he co-wrote the song with Lebo M and Zimmer, and also arranged the vocals. "I earned a Grammy Award for that song, and I was stupid at the time because I asked for a flat fee, instead of asking for royalties. "Even if I asked for one dollar for that song (in terms of for royalties), I would have been a millionaire. But I didn't know better. "I got paid well for that song," said Ngema, looking a bit disappointed during the interview with King David.

Lebo M went on to say he does not understand why Ngema is misleading people. "I don't understand why Mbongeni Ngema, one of my heroes would just blatantly lie about my work and claim it," he said. He says he hired Ngema months after Hans and himself completed writing music for the Lion King 1994 animation along with Elton John and Tim Rice. "I get it, when people are trying to rebuild their careers the most convenient thing to do to get attention is use my name and brand, but this is beyond silly," Lebo said adding that he is considering legal actions again Ngema. "This is now a legacy issue, we are considering our options with my legal team," he added. Attempts to get a comment from Ngema proved fruitless as his phone rang unanswered and he failed to respond to our text messages.