By Winstone Antonio
Zimbabwe Music Rights Association (Zimura) board member and veteran gospel musician Machanic Manyeruke says the late Afro jazz artiste Prince Kudakwashe Musarurwa was in the mould of Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi.
Musarurwa, who succumbed to lung cancer last week, was buried at his rural home in Murombedzi on Tuesday, while superstar and national hero Tuku died last year.
Speaking to NewsDay Life & Style at Musarurwa’s burial, Manyeruke said the young musician had a bright future in music given his lyrical prowess.
“Prince had a bright future. His death is a huge loss to the arts industry. I saw him as someone who was following in the footsteps of the late Oliver Mtukudzi due to his deep lyrical prowess,” he said.
“In him, I saw someone who was a genius in composing songs that carried the message of encouragement and motivation… As Zimura, we have lost an artiste who made his contribution to people’s music.”
Zimbabwe College of Music executive director Rachel Jera- Chigwanda said Musarurwa, who was a product of the institution, was a real ambassador of arts and culture whose work showed he was a dedicated artiste.
“Prince was a humble and very quiet guy, but pregnant with knowledge. He was a person who would not want to be by himself and selfish as he would always want to share his knowledge with other students and as a result many students learnt a lot from him.”
Prominent arts promoter, Partson “Chipaz” Chimbodza, said the relationship between artistes and promoters should go beyond shows such that there would be constant communication between the two parties as many promoters were not aware of his illness.
“There is something that must be mended in terms of the relationship between artistes and promoters. We must be able to socialise outside of shows instead of looking for each other when we are planning for a concert,” he said.
“On Prince’s illness I think very few promoters knew about it and this is why I believe going forward we must build good artiste-promoter relationships such that we are able to know when either party needs assistance.”
Musarurwa’s niece, songstress Pah Chihera, thanked artistes, promoters, the fans and other stakeholders in the arts industry and the community for their support during the deceased’s illness and death.
Artistes, who attended the burial, included Sulumani Chimbetu, First Farai, Baba Harare, Diana Samkange, Carlos Green, Tatenda Mahachi and Ammi Jamanda as well as actors Tsotsi and Boss T-1. News Day
