I have forgiven and moved on: Kae Chaps

By Tafadzwa Zimoyo

Divorce is a difficult time in any relationship. There are a lot of emotions and mishaps in the process. When the experience is aptly captured in a song, it gives music real life meaning.

The song “Juzi”, by rising musician Kudakwashe Chapepa, affectionately known as Kae Chaps, is one such song that captures the full emotions of divorce and carries one through the post divorce trauma and there is no doubt this is the reason why is has become an instant hit. It is about real life.

“Juzi” is not your usual song; it is a hit on social media, it’s a hit on radio and indeed a hit in many people’s minds, no wonder why some fans have put it on their WhatsApp statuses.

Kae Chaps has set the entertainment scene alight and his song has become talk of the town.

The video has gone viral!

And, for Kae Chaps, the song is about his real life story. He broke up with his long time girlfriend and she left a pink jersey at his house; each time he sees the jersey, it reminds him of the past.

The Rugare-based musician revealed that the song was directed at his ex-girlfriend.

He said he had moved on and had since forgiven her.

“I recorded the song two weeks ago on a Friday, after being inspired by my breakup with my girlfriend whom I have dated for five months. I released it the following Tuesday and then on Wednesday she heard the song and called me, telling me that it has been on her playlist,” he said.

“We spoke for a while and she was interested and trying to act as everything was normal but I told her, I am no longer playing that. I have moved on. I am no longer seeing her the same way as before,” he said.

He said the song took him a day to write and wanted to express himself through the song.

“I was hurt. The song is real and what you see on the video on social media is actually me and how I felt. After we uploaded the song, the next day it was already trending on social media,” he said.

“It was already on 11 000 hits and I was shocked. I am happy how big artists are even endorsing the song.

The song is emotional and it speaks my heart. I was depressed. I had other heart-breaks before but this one was very strong as it hit me hard. I later accepted fate and started 2021 on a new note,” Kae Chaps said.

The 24-year-old said he thought about the idea of “Juzi” as a start of a point because he vividly remembers what happened on the break-up.

“These types of songs are much easier for me because I thought about the idea and found a proper beat. I have been that artist who always loved to write the truth, portraying what is actually happening. I had to find a proper beat for the words I had written and my producer Dj Futronic of Y-Not Media did a sterling job. The video was shot by Malvern Njewa. I am that artiste who always loves to play vulnerable in his music and expresses emotions,” he said.

Kae Chaps has been in the music industry for about seven years as an underground musician.

“This is not the only song I have. I have done others, it is just that this one found fame and I am enjoying it. I can say I am an alternative hip-hop musician because I feel I can sing any genre as long as I have the sound (melody) that I want to express myself,” he said.

Asked apart from music what has been doing in life, Kae Chaps said was focusing on music career.

“I used to work before and I remember in 2017 I went to South Africa and came back after I failed to make it there. I told my uncle that let me go back to Zimbabwe. I worked as a general hand at a pizza place, at a fast food, chicken outlet in town and as a satellite dish installer for Kwese Tv. I got depressed and quit. I started making music in 2014, I have been dropping singles.

“I then did my first project called “November 20” in 2018. It was inspired by an incident where I got stabbed at night coming from work, during the Kwese days. I turned that into a project. In 2020, I did an extended play which had three songs. My very first album was last year on September 25, titled “Vanga”,” he explained. He said was working on a couple of collaborations and was inspired by a lot of people.

“My role model is tricky because I have a lot of people who inspire me, some dead while others alive. I listen to Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift, Adele, Jah Prayzah,Winky D, Bob Marley and Hope Masike,” he said. The Chronicle