On today's chart 20K views since yesterday

The voice behind "Sweet Lullaby" has a name: Afunakwa

ABC's The Pacific travels to Baegu to meet the singer's family, whose campaign for recognition has brought a credit update but unresolved questions about royalties.

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ABC News In-depth Story of November 8, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? One of the most watched videos since yesterday, with 20,215 views.

The search for the truth behind Deep Forest's 'Sweet Lullaby' | The Pacific

Things we can learn from the video

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2:06Theresa Tafili explains that "Rorogwela" is a lullaby comforting an orphan.
3:04Archive material traces Afunakwa's recording and the later misattribution of its origins to Africa.
4:32Afunakwa's daughter Elen Kasi recalls the minimal compensation her mother received for being recorded.
5:41Celsus Talifilu explains why the community is seeking both recognition and royalties.
6:48Matt Singmin's remix-clearance search leads him to Baegu and the creation of the Afunakwa Foundation.
8:10ABC reports Mouquet's acknowledgment of missing credit and video-description updates naming Afunakwa.

For listeners who know Deep Forest's "Sweet Lullaby", the voice may be familiar. ABC's The Pacific takes that voice back to its home: Baegu, in the Solomon Islands, where Afunakwa sang the lullaby "Rorogwela".

Reporter Chrisnrita Aumanu-Leong and producer Nick Sas travel to Malaita to meet her relatives and explore the distance between a worldwide electronic hit and the community whose music it sampled. The report has drawn about 20,000 views in its first ten hours.

Theresa Tafili explains what the original song means: it comforts an orphan. When Aumanu-Leong plays the Deep Forest recording for people in Baegu, they describe how the remix has lost that meaning. The report also traces how the recording's Pacific origins became misattributed to Africa.

Afunakwa's daughter, Elen Kasi, recalls her mother receiving very little compensation for being recorded. Afunakwa Foundation trustee Celsus Talifilu says the campaign is about recognition as well as money: "There should have been that respect given to where the song came from."

Electronic musician Matt Singmin provides another route into the story. His attempt to clear a remix led him to investigate the sample's history, visit Baegu and help establish the foundation.

The documentary includes a response from Deep Forest's Éric Mouquet. According to ABC, following its inquiry he acknowledged the lack of credit, and video descriptions on YouTube were updated to name Afunakwa. That addresses one part of the family's campaign. Her grandson John Jack explains what compensation could mean in practical terms for life in the village.

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