Nota issues court-ordered apology to Black Coffee amid contempt proceedings
Controversial music executive and social media commentator Nhlamulo “Nota” Baloyi has publicly apologised to Grammy-winning DJ and producer Nkosinathi “Black Coffee” Maphumulo, retracting earlier allegations against him.
Today, Monday, Nota posted a statement on his X account that closely mirrors the wording of a December 2025 Johannesburg High Court order. In it, he acknowledged that between September and November 2025 he published posts accusing or insinuating that Black Coffee was guilty of bribery, corruption, assault, and general criminal activity. Nota stated there was “no valid basis” for the claims, declared them “false and defamatory,” retracted the posts, and offered an “unreserved” apology for the harm caused.
The apology follows a prolonged legal battle. In December 2025, the High Court ruled Nota’s statements unlawful and defamatory, interdicted further similar comments, and ordered him to delete the posts and publish a specific public apology. Nota deleted references to Black Coffee but initially refused to issue the mandated apology, arguing it would require him to declare statements he still regarded as truthful to be false. He filed an appeal and later faced contempt proceedings in which Black Coffee sought a 60-day jail term for non-compliance.
Just days before the apology, the court ordered Nota to file heads of argument in the contempt application within 10 court days, advancing the matter. The public retraction comes as that process continued.
The dispute forms the latest chapter in a long-running feud between the two figures that has previously drawn legal letters and public exchanges. Black Coffee has not yet publicly responded to the latest statement.