(Paris) South African artist The Kiffness, who is used to humorous remixes with animal sounds because “they unite people”, has gained sudden notoriety on the internet with his parody of false information relayed by Donald Trump claiming that migrants eat cats and dogs in the United States.
“The interest was huge from both sides, Democrats, Republicans, the French press. I’ve never seen anything like it,” David Scott, real name of The Kiffness, told AFP on Wednesday before his concert at the Élysée Montmartre in Paris.
With over 8.5 million views on YouTube in twelve days and millions more garnered across various social networks, his video Eating the cats has gone beyond American political news to go around the world.
It all started with unfounded allegations relayed by Donald Trump during the debate on September 10 against his Democratic rival Kamala Harris. In an anti-migrant speech, the Republican candidate claimed that Haitians were attacking dogs, cats and other pets in Springfield to eat them. This theory, denied by the local police, has sown psychosis in this small town in Ohio.
In his parody with its relaxed melody, the 36-year-old artist takes up the words of the ex-president, who says “crazy things”, adds meows and barks, puts it all through the autotune mill – software that modifies the sound pitch – and sprinkles in a few video clips of animals with facial expressions conducive to anthropomorphism.
Sitting in front of his sampler, The Kiffness also adds a few recommendations to the residents of Springfield: “Please don’t eat my dog, here’s a catalogue of other things to eat.”
“Eliminate all negative energy”
“Music is a powerful way to remove any negative energy or polarizing feelings, especially with someone like Donald Trump,” notes the artist, who seeks to “bring humor to serious situations.”
“That doesn’t mean you laugh at the situation, it means you can rise above it and take a step back,” he emphasizes.
By bringing together stigmatizing lyrics and cute cats, The Kiffness created an unexpected shift.
“I want my music to bring people together. And I think that’s why I gravitated towards music that includes animals. Because animals bring people together.”
The profits generated by this piece are thus donated to the Clark County SPCA, the American equivalent of the SPA (Society for the Protection of Animals), in Springfield. That is, at this stage, an amount of “40,000 dollars”, he says.
The artist is not new to the sport: he has notably parodied his country’s national anthem and became known during the COVID-19 pandemic, with satirical videos on the measures introduced by the authorities.
PHOTO GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
David Scott
This “animal lover” has gradually compiled many animal videos, often viral on the internet. “My fans are great. They do half my work for me, which is finding the videos to work with,” smiles David Scott, himself wearing a T-shirt on which a cat plays apprentice DJ.
So, in his Trump parody, “the cats and the dog you see are actually animals that I’ve composed entire songs about in the past,” like Haiku the Husky.
He himself owns a cat and a dog, still anonymous.
“Unfortunately, they are not as talented as other cats and dogs, at least when it comes to singing. But maybe one day they will produce a sound that I can capture and then I can remix them.”