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Melissa Mpofu, Showbiz Editor

The country has been plunged into mourning yet again following the death of Soul Jah Love, mwana waSthembeni, one of the artistes who popularised Zimdancehall in the country.

What made him standout was the fact that his music was relatable and appealing, something most people are attesting while sharing their condolence messages.

The artiste, real name Soul Musaka died on Tuesday evening at Mbuya Dorcas Hospital in Harare after succumbing to sugar diabetes. He was 31.

Following the announcement of his death last night, many people are taking to social media to mourn the Ndini Uya Uya hit-maker who popularised phrases such as Chibaba, Makuruwani and Pamamonya among many others.

“His music spoke to me and saw me through some tough times. His music was so relatable and I loved the underdog triumph and fighting spirit that always came through in his songs. He had a natural flow,” posted musician Plaxedes Wenyika on her social media pages.

“I first fell in love with Ndini Uya Uya and thereafter he became one of my favourite Zimdancehall artists. The music fraternity has been robbed. Your absence is felt. The world was all the more better because you made our days happier and enjoyable by sharing your gift with us. For that we are thankful. Fare thee well Soul Jah Love.”

Indeed, Soul Jah Love made people happier with his music as some detailed how the late artiste made their university days more enjoyable.

“Sauro made our college life better as we’d play his music as a way to hype ourselves when we wanted to go out. His music brings only good memories,” posted a former MSU student.

His creativity was unmatched as he effortlessly came up with rhymes that caught on to many, becoming national anthems in an instant.

“Chibaba and Makuruwani are some of the striking terms that were popularised by Soul Jah Love. He was good with words and some of his rhymes were second to none. Sad he is gone at such a young age,” posted journalist, Silence Charumbira.

Pamamonya Ipapo, Ndini Uya Uya, Naka Dhula Daka, Dai Hupenyu Hwaitengwa, Zvandinomudira, Ndiri Zvinhu, Hove Hure and Go Back to sender, Soul Jah Love had diverse songs which fit in perfectly well with varying situations. Whether you were mourning or were in a party mood, he had a song for all moods. But above all, the man loved praising himself. Handisi chinhu, ndirizvinhu he would say.

A very big fan of his late mother Sithembeni, Soul Jah Love never missed an opportunity to sing or talk about her. “Mwana waSithembeni” he would proudly sing in some of his songs.

The battle with sugar diabetes is one that undeniably took his joy away and made him very unpopular among fans and music promoters alike as he began missing shows he would have been paid for. Following an outcry, he, in 2016, defended his continuous absence at shows saying it was due to diabetes, an ailment which he was diagnosed with when he was seven-years-old.

While some had since concluded that the artiste simply failed to perform as a result of drug and alcohol abuse, Soul Jah Love claimed this was not the case as his blood sugar levels would be too low for him to perform.

“When I fail to pitch up to a show, it’s usually because my blood sugar levels will be very low. I can’t even give that as a reason because people just say I was high on drugs, which isn’t the case,” said Soul Jah Love during an interview with Star FM presenter, KVG.

Considering that his condition deteriorated over the years with the ailment ultimately claiming his life, it seems Soul Jah Love was right after all, sugar diabetes overpowered him and as much as he would have wanted to entertain his multitudes of fans and attend all shows as agreed, he simply could not do so.

And it seems the artiste was well aware that people never understood his behaviour and took him for a junkie among other negative things as he sang about this in a song titled Kana Ndafa that was released in 2019. Two years after its release, people are now playing the track and closely listening to its message. Listening to the song, Soul Jah Love shares an important message where he pleads with people to understand that he was misunderstood and all that was said about him is not true.

“Varipo vachandisvibisa voti zvendaita hazviite. Kana ndafa, ndoda mugoziva, ndapinda muguva. Zvemaiudzwa aiva manyepo, asi ndivo futi vatumira mamhepo, vavengi. Hapana munhu wenyama anotonga. Nyangwe mukanditonga munowona se ndinopenga, ndikataura munoti hapana chinozikanwa

“People are dying, Soul Jah Love is crying asi chandoziva kuti Mwari vachabuditsa chokwadi,” are some of the lyrics of the song.