He walked into the dealership to buy a dream car. He walked out of court with a R7 million win.
Grammy Award-winning musician Black Coffee has beaten Maserati South Africa in a bruising legal fight, after the Johannesburg High Court ordered the luxury carmaker to hand back R7 million to his company over a car deal that went badly wrong.
The order was handed down by acting judge Sanet van Aswegen, who granted summary judgment in favour of Black Coffee's company, Soulistic Music. In simple terms, the judge decided the case did not need to go through a long, drawn-out trial. She ruled straight away.
And she did not stop at the R7 million.
Maserati was also ordered to pay interest of 10.5% a year on that money, calculated from 22 August 2025, until the full amount is paid. On top of that, the carmaker must pay the legal costs of the proceedings.
The order does not spell out the detailed reasons behind the court's decision. But the outcome is a knockout blow for the DJ and record producer, whose real name is Nkosinathi Maphumulo.
The Car At The Centre Of It All
This story starts with a supercar.
In 2022, Maphumulo bought a Maserati MC20 Coupe from the dealership for R7 million. About two years later, he decided he wanted something newer and even more special — an MC20 Cielo, priced at R9 million.
According to his court papers, Maserati offered him R7 million as a trade-in for his old car as part of the quote. That meant he would only owe R2 million, which he would pay when the new car was delivered.
He says a purchase agreement was concluded, describing it as "partly written, partly oral".
The 18 Things He Asked For
This was never going to be an ordinary car off the showroom floor.
Maphumulo listed 18 specifications for the vehicle. Among them was a Sonus Faber high-premium sound system with 12 speakers. He wanted the car in Maserati Blu Infinito, a deep blue colour. He asked for specific wheels with a "glossy black diamond cut", and full leather and Alcantara interiors with a chevron design stitching.
In short, he wanted a one-of-a-kind machine.
Then Came The Bad News
Maphumulo says the agreement was that the car would be delivered by July 2025.
But on 3 June, he says the dealership told him the car would only be sent for production in August — with no estimated delivery date at all.
For him, that was the final straw. He said this was a breach of the agreement and told the dealership to cancel the deal and pay back the trade-in money.
The very next day, an e-mail landed in his inbox.
"We are pleased to announce that we have secured a production slot for your Fuoriserie order. Since you're a globally recognised figure, the factory has made a special exception for us. Your Fuoriserie order will be going into production in August, we will be able to confirm further details closer to the time."
Maphumulo was not moved by the flattery. A month later he followed up about getting his money back.
"Despite the demand, to date [Maserati] has failed/neglected/refused to make payment," he said in his papers.
What Maserati Said
The carmaker fought back hard.
In its plea, Maserati denied that July 2025 was ever the agreed delivery date. It said building a customised vehicle like the Cielo takes a minimum of nine months from the day the customer confirms exactly what they want.
The company said Maphumulo had picked custom colours for the outside of the car, the inside, the interior trimmings, the seat belts and even the brake calipers — and that none of these extras were included in the original quotation.
It said he was "required to confirm these further customisations, following which these specifications would need to be approved by Maserati SA's head office and an estimated date for delivery obtained (as each car is custom-made)".
Because of this, the carmaker argued it had not broken any agreement.
Maserati also made another argument: that without the purchase of the new vehicle, the trade-in value of the old car would never have been R7 million in the first place.
The court was not persuaded. The order went against Maserati on every point.
The Other Court Battle
While the DJ celebrates this win, he is still tangled in a completely separate fight — this one with outspoken social media commentator Nota Baloyi.
Maphumulo is suing Baloyi for defamation after Baloyi made claims on a podcast about the DJ's money matters during his divorce from television personality Enhle Mbali Mlotshwa.
The musician has now launched contempt proceedings against Baloyi, asking the court to send him to jail for allegedly failing to obey a court order linked to the dispute.
Baloyi is fighting back. He is opposing the application and claims the musician harassed his mother in an effort to put pressure on him. He has called the alleged behaviour intimidating and is asking for R25,000 in damages for the distress he says his mother suffered.
Maphumulo, for his part, has accused Baloyi of a "total and unapologetic disregard for the law and authority of this court".
The Bigger Picture
Black Coffee is one of the biggest names South Africa has ever sent out into the world. He is a Grammy winner, a global headliner, and a man who has spent years turning township beats into international stadium moments.
But this week, the spotlight was not on a stage. It was on a courtroom in Johannesburg, where a judge decided that even a car giant must answer when a customer says the deal has fallen apart.
The R7 million is going back. The interest is ticking. And somewhere, a blue supercar with 12 speakers and chevron stitching will never be driven by the man who dreamed it up.
