Dj Thabo Mahundla who was born in Limpompo, widely known in the music industry as AirBurn Sounds has fallen victim to a violent home invasion, allegedly orchestrated by his former label boss, Phillip Makhate.
According to ZiMOJA, Phillip reportedly forced his way into Thabo’s Midrand home with six men, assaulting him and taking his studio equipment, including a hard drive with unreleased music. Despite previously agreeing to part ways peacefully, Phillip allegedly began releasing the music from the hard drive without crediting Thabo, which the producer’s legal team considers theft.
Thabo is now in the process of filing theft charges, breaking and assault. Phillip, however, claims that Thabo is under a five-year contract with his label, which gives him rights to all the music produced during that period.
TshisaLIVE reported that Thabo has built an impactful career producing hits for South African major artists like Master KG, Nomcebo Zikode, DJ Tira and Makhadzi. Some of his work includes a collaboration with Cameroonian-US star Akon.
The publication further reported that a source revealed that Phillip has done little for Thabo, and he hasn’t been paid for gigs despite working tirelessly.
The source questioned Phillip’s state of ownership over the artist, asking, “Phillip has not done much for AirBurn Sounds. Instead, he has produced more history than anything. He hasn’t been getting paid for gigs but has been working non-stop, and Phillip claims to own him. How do you own another man?”