Tom Holland just called Ndlovu Youth Choir’s proudly South African Spider-Man tribute ‘the best!’
Limpopo, South Africa (23 March 2026) – The new Spider-Man movie is set for release in July later this year, and the trailer just dropped. The Ndlovu Youth Choir put together a tribute video responding to the trailer’s release, and Tom Holland – the Spider-Man himself – saw it! In fact, he said it was ‘his favourite.’
Can you even?
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The video, filmed in Limpopo, has amassed over 300,000 views on social media already!
“When Spider-Man is your friend, the Tsotsis better pasop!” the choir shared.
For those who don’t know, ‘Rabobi’ is the isiXhosa version of Spider-Man, which was broadcast on local TV back in the ’80s. It aired in the late afternoons on TV1, now SABC1. When the show was on, the radio would broadcast the original audio for English-speaking viewers.
Apartheid hadn’t been abolished yet, and Rabobi was the only access young South African children had to an Xhosa-speaking hero.
“The 80s was a simpler time. As a kid, five o’ clock meant sprinting home from a game of cricket in the streets in order to catch The Amazing Spider-Man on TV.” wrote local graffiti artist Falko One on Facebook in 2018, reflecting on childhood memories. “Unfortunately, Spidey wasn’t in English. Thankfully, our TV (a rather large Telefunken set) allowed us to tune into the radio (which broadcasted the original English) at the same time. But not until we listened to the theme song in Xhosa. We had to. Rabobi was special. More special than Spider-Man. There was something about the dubbed theme song that really captured the times.” he said.
And so, that’s the lore that inspired the Ndlovu Youth Choir’s proudly South African ‘Rabobi’ tribute. The best one Tom Holland has seen.
The new movie, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, is scheduled to hit cinemas in South Africa on 31 July 2026. Trailer below!
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