Farewell king of kwaito, Mandoza
Those are the sentiments shared by family members of musician, kwaito star and South African icon Mandoza.
They’re easily shared by many South Africans as news of his death on 18 September is still battling to sink in.
Mandoza. Is. Dead.
His family prepared us for the news 12 days prior to his death with a startling announcement. Mandoza was “fighting for his life after having cancer treatment in 2015, it has unfortunately metastasized to his brain”.
His wife, Mpho, loyal to her husband through all the ups and downs, quickly downplayed the statement saying that his condition was serious, but he was “okay”.
In fact, he was so “okay,” that he even performed at the Thank You SABC Concert on 10 September, little over a week before his death. Scenes of a frail Mandoza quickly became viral. Armed by family, friends, politicians and colleagues, Mandoza bravely took to the stage.
“I’m here tonight to perform for you. To show you that devil is a liar. Devil is a liar,” he shouted.
But social media picked up on his ill health and fans were immediately concerned after he left stage after performing just one song. His wife Mpho, who was there, again refuted the concern, saying he had only been billed to perform one song and he was “okay.” She was at work and said he was “tired but okay”.
Still, eight days later and Mzansi is mourning the loss of one of the country’s biggest musical icons.
Top Dog
Born in 1978 in Soweto Mandoza was seen as the first black artist to cross colour lines in a country that was still battling with the notion of the ‘rainbow nation.’
His hit song, Nkalakatha, the lead single and title of his second solo album was hailed as a unifier across all colour lines.
Released in 2000, Mandoza suddenly found himself catapulted into stardom. Sure, he had been in the entertainment business for a while after being part of the group Chiskop along with his childhood friends Sibisi (The General GTZ) Sizwe Motaung and Sibusiso Thanjakwayo, but it was this album that put him on the map.
Mandoza was on a high. He won award after award, dominated the music charts and as his face become more well-known, his private life became tabloid fodder.
Drinking, drugs and $ problems
In 2003, just three years after he morphed from average day life to super stardom, Mandoza admitted he had a problem.
He had checked into a rehab facility in Cape Town, admitting that the pressure that came along with his solo career was just too much.
“At the clubs is where it's happening, that's where the dealing takes place. I used to spend R2 000 a week on cocaine only. This is very dangerous stuff, especially for spoilt kids who carry a lot of pocket money. My kind of drugs were the expensive kind, but there are some you could get at about R50, so kids are also in danger," reported IOL.
While Mandoza battled to get a grip on his new found fame, he was also trying to bring his simmering career back to life post his 2000 to 2004 musical success.
It was too late. Much of the hype around kwaito and Mandoza had died down.
The accident that changed it all
As his music battled to touch sides, it was again his personal life that took center stage after he was involved in a car accident in 2008 that claimed that lives of two people. Mandoza crashed his Chrysler SRT into the back of a VW Jetta on the N1 North near the Beyers Naude Drive off-ramp, killing two people.
He was found guilty on two counts of culpable homicide and was given a suspended sentence of three years and nine months. He also had to compensate the two families, according to the Sowetan.
Two years later he made headlines yet again for his involvement in another accident. There was confusion over his exact role in the accident, with initial reports stating that he driving a Mini Cooper at the time of the incident, only for police to later say more in-depth investigations had revealed he was not the driver and no charges would be laid.
But the death of two people and subsequent negative press was like a fountain on his fire, killing his fame flame even more.
It wasn’t necessarily the worst thing for Mandoza.
The elusive Mandoza
Mandoza all but disappeared from the public eye. Concerts were few and far between and he rarely made appearance at events which other South African celebrities would attend.
Those close to Mandoza have said he was “angry” with the press, at the things that were being reported about him, and the “lies” that were being spread.
In between, he got married, had three children and lived a quiet life in Soweto. He made the odd TV show appearance, every now and then cameras would follow him around for a ‘Mandoza special’ but it wasn’t something that he wanted, nor particularly enjoyed.
This was a new Mandoza. He had had the fame. He had the money. The success. The friends that were only in it for his thick wallet and fellow musicians that only paid attention when it suited them.
His neighbours would go to his house and visit. They would drink and talk. They were there the day before his death.
His final day
Speaking to TMG Entertainment on condition on anonymity, one of his neighbours told us outside his house that friends and family had gathered to celebrate his wife’s birthday on Saturday.
“I am shocked. We are sitting together yesterday. It was for Mpho’s birthday and we were saying ‘Mpho, we gonna chill tomorrow. Drink, be merry. I even said to her, ‘He will pull out of this.’ He was a fighter. He was always fighting. We were all praying.”
Of his final moments his son Tokollo Tshabalala said his father died a proud man.
“I’m happy that my dad died a proud man and had everything he wanted in life. He always used to say, ‘When I’m gone one day I need you to be strong,’ and now I’m just trying to be strong.”
And strong is what we’ll all have to be as we mourn the loss of our top dog. Our king of kwaito. Our Mandoza.
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