By Jonathan Mbiriyamveka
Hold the bulletin. Zimbabwe’s hottest producer just pressed record on something wild.
Young DLC—the man behind some of your favorite Amapiano slaps—has officially done what no one else had the guts to try. He’s sampled the iconic ZBC News mbende drums into a brand-new track.
Yes. Those drums. The ones that have announced the 8 PM news for generations. The ones that live rent-free in every Zimbabwean’s head.
In a now-viral Instagram post, Young DLC shared footage of himself cooking in the studio, fingers hovering over the magic.
“I sampled ZBC drums . . . now we need national clearance to drop it,” he wrote, half-joking, half-dead serious.
The internet hasn’t stopped talking since.
The Beat That Belongs to Everyone (And No One)
Now, here’s where it gets interesting.
The ZBC News drumbeat has a complicated past. It was famously popularized by the late Douglas Vambe, the Mbende/Jerusarema drummer whose hands gave that rhythm its modern heartbeat. Vambe was involved in a protracted copyright dispute with ZBC over neighboring act rights—because while he played the drums on air, he wasn’t legally recognized as their sole creator.
Why? Because the Mbende/Jerusarema drum beat isn’t actually his.
It’s older. Much older.
A UNESCO Heritage Groove
The beat belongs to the public domain. It is Zimbabwe’s cultural heritage, period.
Originating from the Zezuru Shona people of eastern Zimbabwe—especially the Murewa and UMP districts of Mashonaland East—the Mbende Jerusarema dance is no ordinary shuffle. UNESCO proclaimed it a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Its history is pure fire.
Before colonialism, the dance was called Mbende—the Shona word for a burrowing mole. The signature moves mimic the mole’s darting, jerky, dusty escape. Men crouch low, jerk their arms, kick up dust with their right leg, and move like the earth itself is alive.
The mole? A symbol of fertility, sexuality, and family. The dance? A ritual celebration of life—and sometimes, a strategic battle diversion.
So Can Young DLC Drop It?
Legally? Probably yes.
As long as he doesn’t claim ownership of the drum pattern itself, Young DLC may have found a gorgeous legal gray area wrapped in national pride. The beat belongs to the people. The arrangement? That’s his genius.
Now all he needs is . . . clearance. Or the courage to click upload.
Either way, Zimbabwe is listening.
The Verdict
Young DLC just turned a news bulletin into a club anthem waiting to happen. And in a country where culture moves faster than copyright law, this might just be the most Zimbabwean Amapiano track ever made.
Drop it, DLC. The people are ready.
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