in the groove:with Fred Zindi
Several people have asked me why many musicians are dying so young these days, but I cannot find a perfect answer to give them as musicians, just like anybody else, die under different circumstances.
Does a combination of lifestyle pressures and personality as a musician lead to their early deaths? There are no yes or no answers to this debatable phenomenon either.
The death of Prince Kudakwashe Musarurwa on February 15 at the age of 32, triggered many memories of young greats who left us before their time. The list is endless, but to mention just a few: Sam Mtukudzi died at the age of 21, Amy Winehouse died at the age of 27, Bob Marley died aged 36, Biggie Smalls, aka The Notorious BIG, died aged 24 and Tupac Shakur, aka 2Pac, was 25 when he was shot dead. Nat King Cole died at the age of 45. That is young.
Other notable stars such as Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, David Bowie and Prince, who died in their 40s and 50s, were still too young to go as they left big vacuums in the music world.
Musarurwa who shot to fame, courtesy of the collaboration he did with his niece PaChihera on their 2013 hit Runonzi Rudo, died of lung cancer at Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital and was buried next to his grandfather, August Musarurwa, in Murombedzi, Zvimba, a few days later.
Many people were shocked and are asking why he died so young. We do not know the cause of that lung cancer he died from. We can only speculate. We are not sure whether the lung cancer came naturally or this was due to his love for whisky and cigarettes. Whatever the cause, it killed him so young.
I first met Prince at the Zimbabwe College of Music. He had enrolled for the National Certificate in Music. The first question I asked Prince was whether he was related to the famous saxophonist, August, and he said that he was the grandson of August. With a cigarette in his right hand and Black Label lager in the left, he went on to tell me that he had dreams of being bigger than his grandfather. When I went back to the college a few weeks later, Prince had dropped out of the National Certificate in Music programme. Later, after their hit single, Runonzi Rudo, his niece, Pamhidzai Mbirimi, aka PaChihera, also joined the National Certificate in Music programme, but did not complete it either.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
Prince had many fantasies in his life to the extent that he believed he would one day be bigger than his grandfather, August, of Skokiaan fame.
Gift Musarurwa, younger brother of August, the late jazz veteran, who is currently based in Nurenberg, West Germany, posted a letter on his Facebook page which is purported to have been written by Prince on August 23, 2018 to his grandfather August Musarurwa. The letter, which is cited below shows this young man’s dreams:
Dear Grandpa, August Musarurwa There is so much I want to tell you . So much I want to show you. I know that I will never have the opportunity to tell you and show you all that I want to, but I know I can still talk to you spiritually, although sometimes I don’t understand some of the things that you will be trying to show me, it takes time for me to figure out. I never got a chance to play music with you. I would have loved us to fuse your saxophone with my mbira, playing all night drinking whisky.
Grandpa, I never got a chance to introduce you to my good friends I have met in the music industry- although I know you do appreciate and love them the way I do, and I know you chose them for me !… Thank you for showing up whenever I feel troubled in this life … Your presence always makes people get connected to good energy. Grandpa, I felt your presence yesterday and some few days ago. Ohh those are really special moments I cherish. Although I never got the chance to make you proud of me , I like to believe that wherever you are with your brothers , you are looking down at me with pride, Sinyoro. Thank you for choosing and trusting me to walk this journey.
Love, Prince of Peace.
As you can see from this loaded letter, the young man had indeed dreams to fulfil and was spiritually connected to his famous grandfather, August, who died in 1968 before he was even born. He saw himself as heir to the Musarurwa throne as he went on to record several albums, which included Gara Muberevere and Gogodera. Before he even got famous in Zimbabwe he had toured Europe, the UK and the United States of America where his music was well received.
His grandfather, August, was born in Zvimba in 1920. After attending school he decided to be a musician. As he could not enrol at a college of music in the then Rhodesia due to racism which was rife at the time, he decided to join the Police Band where he learned to play the saxophone. He later formed the Cold Storage Sweet Rhythm Band and recorded through Gallo Records, the world-famous tune, Skokiaan.
When Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong, the African-American acclaimed jazz trumpeter, visited Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) in December, 1960, after the United States Information Services (USIS) facilitated his tour of Africa, he was surprised at the similarities between kwela and jazz and asked August and his backing band to be the supporting musicians on some of his tunes. At the same time Armstrong tried to fit into some of Musarurwa’s songs. He fell in love with Skokiaan and later, after returning to the United States, recorded Skokiaan in 1961.
In the late 1960s, Cliff Richard’s backing band, The Shadows, also recorded Skokiaan and it became a hit all over the world. To this day, Skokiaan is played all over the world.
August is buried in his family cemetery in the village near Zvimba. The inscription on his grave reads: Here lies August Machona Musarurwa, great singer and music composer, renowned the world over.
In Zimbabwe, besides the fact that Prince Musarurwa had had many years of experience in the music industry, it was not until 2013 after the release of Runonzi Rudo with Pah Chihera that many Zimbabweans got to know about him.
On this hit song, it was Pah Chihera who gained more recognition for the song as compared to Prince. Prince had basically composed the tune and made the necessary music arrangements, before asking his niece, whom he thought had a wonderful voice, to join him. It was Prince who played a crucial role on that hit song even though credit was given more to Pah Chihera. Even Pah Chihera herself acknowledges it. In an interview I held with her at the peak of her career in 2013, she said: “It is a question of who you know in the music industry. I am lucky to have started working with an uncle who was already in the business with three albums to his credit, which are Kurarama, Gara Muberevere and Gogodera. Although most of the credit went to Pah Chihera, Prince was not disturbed by this. He humbly accepted that the success of his niece was also his own success and that his time to be a star on his own would soon come.
His death, two weeks ago, on February 15 at such a tender age, cut short that dream. The idea of having to die before fulfilling one’s dreams is unbearable.
Perhaps now Prince can join his grandpa for a jam session somewhere above. In his own words to his grandfather, written in 2018 before his death: “I would have loved us to fuse your saxophone with my mbira, playing all night drinking whisky.” He can do that now.
May his soul rest in eternal peace. lFeedback: [email protected]
