Malaika was written in Kenya, recorded in Tanzania, made famous by Harry Belafonte in New York, and remains the most-covered song to come out of East Africa. Three men claimed to have written it. One went to his grave insisting. Another profited from it for decades. The song traveled further than any of them ever did, and the question of who actually owned those opening notes has never been fully settled. This is the story of a melody that belonged to everyone and no one.