North West‘s rapping debut in her father’s Yeezy Season 8 presentation in Paris yesterday (March 2, 2020) was a break out moment for the six-year old and created a huge buzz for the show that extended interest in the show far beyond fans of fashion.
However, like many things West/Kardashian, the cute moment quickly evolved into controversy not long after North West performed. Both Kanye West and Kim Kardashian were called out by the parents of Zahara “ZaZa” Noel, a five-year old performer from Lexington, Kentucky, who turned an extra cute exchange (thought to be inspired by another little girl named Amiya) into a flourishing career as a rap artist.
On ZaZa’s Instagram feed, her mother accurately pointed out that North West’s performance had borrowed both the flow and beat from “What I Do,” a single dropped in August 2019 that now has 13.2 million views on YouTube.
In the caption, ZaZa’s mother wrote, “We take PRIDE in creativity, and believe whether a child’s involved or an adult… creativity deserves RESPECT/homage! What @kimkardashian (Kanye west) are doing with their daughter… with the inspiration of ZaZa & our family in mind is okay… we not mad BUT PLS SHOW LOVE AND SUPPORT TO THE ORIGINAL FIRST!!! We admire Kanye west, and adore his journey. However, we don’t wanna feel like our daughter’s journey in the world of entertainment is being STIFLED .THANK YOU! 💕 Zaza’s parents appreciate the love and inspiration behind the track, but wants people to remember the originator.”
Frequently accused of stealing merchandise ideas not to mention her entire aesthetic from black women without providing compensation in return, Kardashian quickly came under fire on multiple blogs with big followings including The Shade Room.
Not waiting for the ugly moment to gather steam, Kardashian weighed in within hours under ZaZa’s parent’s Instagram post where she wrote, “We love you, North is a huge fan and records in the studio all the time with her dad and is inspired by ZaZa and loves Lay Lay too! [ Alaya “Lay Lay” High is an eight-year who is on record as the youngest rapper to sign to a label deal and is featured in ZaZa’s “That’s a NoNo” video.]
“Todays performance of North’s remix of ZaZa’s song was something she asked to do at the last minute and a complete surprise. I didn’t mean to not give credit where credit was due. Would love for the girls to meet soon. 💕” North’s performance as a last minute idea and she loves Zaza and another musician Lay Lay, and hopes to meet Zaza soon.”
Check out North West’s performance below along with ZaZa’s mother’s statement plus the “What I Do?” visual.
