Rapper Emtee, real name Mthembeni Ndevu has vowed that he’s not going to stop the use of the name Johustleburg after he was accused of stealing it!
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Emtee also said that someone is threatening to sue him for the use of Johustleburg but he wasn’t prepared to change the title of his record.
“I’m not changing the title of my record. That’s the point!!! STOP ALL THESE TRICKS! I’M STILL DROPPING THE SONG AND THE ALBUM. I’m nobody!! I just happen to be a musician. Cut it out,” wrote Emtee.
Inspired by Hustle Entertainment, Elton Tinashe Nyariri established Johustleburg Apparel in 2012. On their website, they state that the brand’s energy has been shaped and honed by the City’s vibe – young and carefree.
MGOSI.co.za has seen an application for South African Trademark application no 2016/18051 JOHUSTLEBURG in Class 35 in the name of JOHUSTLEBURG APPAREL (PTY) LTD.
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Speaking with MGOSI.co.za on Thursday, Tinashe Nyariri said that he has forwarded the matter to his legal team for a way forward.
“Our company is registered as Johustleburg Apparel and we’ve trademarked the name. He (Emtee) has no right to use the name whatsoever in his songs without talking to us because this will confuse our customers in terms of who is the owner of the brand.
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“It will seem like we are selling clothes that belong to Emtee whereby we established our brand a very long time ago (2012). I’ve made Emtee aware 3 days ago (through his management – Dumisani). They are very much aware of what they are doing but they are still going ahead,” said Tinashe Nyariri.
He said his company will take legal action against Emtee due to the fact that he does not want to comply with the use of their trademark, especially when it comes to clothing, logos, and domains.
“When we saw the song as a company we actually wanted to endorse him with clothing for his music video so that we could also market our brand. It’s a win-win for both parties but it seems like they actually don’t care. I’ve given him (manager) a proposal yesterday morning (Wednesday) and he has not said anything so far,” explained Tinashe Nyariri.
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MGOSI.co.za has seen screenshots showing communication between the two. Dumisani acknowledged messages from Tinashe and said he was not Emtee’s manager but he will talk to him to resolve the matter.
When we asked if he had contacted the other artists who used the trademark in their songs he said he was not aware of them.
However, he told us that they are more concerned about what might come after the release of the song such as clothing and domains related to their trademark.
Looking at Johustleburg, in 2015 Master C, Blaze Beast, and Nemesis released an EP titled Johustleburg. The trio hasn’t claimed any trademark for the name yet.
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3 years ago (2 August 2016) Tokollo ‘Magesh’ Tshabalala released a song titled Johustleburg aka Joburg City. You can check out the song via his SoundCloud below.
Brandan Potgieter also claims that in January (2020) he sent some of his Johustleburg merchandise to Emtee hoping he would support his local brand.
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On Wednesday Emtee said that he was going to communicate the release date for Johustleburg on Thursday.
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