‘Music industry robbed of a good guy’
THE late Afro-pop singer Garikai Mapanzure, who was affectionately known as “Garry”, has been described as a hard worker whose promising career was cut short.
The singer died on October 13 after a road traffic accident on the Beitbridge-Masvingo Highway.
He was 25.
His sister and nephew also died on the spot.
Hilary Chipunza — also known as Hillzy — was one of the artistes who attended Garry’s funeral in Masvingo.
The multi-award-winning contemporary urban music singer had to travel all the way from South Africa where he is based.
“Garry was a good friend who was disciplined, very humble, a hard worker and supportive of his friends. I knew him during his early days when he was just 19 years old, when he released his debut song ‘Wapunza’in 2017, which took the market by storm,” said Hillzy.
“‘Wapunza’now has more than 4,5 million views on YouTube.
“Since then, Garry was my friend. I remember, in 2019, when we had tours together in major universities and colleges across the country, and all shows were sold out. The tour is regarded as one of the most successful in the country.
“Outside shows at tertiary institutions, we also performed at different venues in Zimbabwe and South Africa. We shared our everyday life experiences as we travelled together.”
Hillzy said the late musician was open about his life and loyal to his wife.
“I wish the best to his widow and son. Although he was younger than me, his mind was not. He always taught me new things in the music industry. When we did the song ‘Nakupenda’ (2020), Garry was the one who did all the script for the track.
“He was sharp in terms of writing/ composing songs. Together, we did three tracks, namely, ‘Nakupenda’, ‘TV Room’ (2019) and ‘Chara Chimwe’ (2022). We were planning doing more projects but the heavens had other plans. It will be difficult for me to find a friend like him. Our industry has been robbed of a good guy.”
Zim hip-hop artiste Takura (Takura Bernard Shonhai), who recently worked with Mapanzure on the track “Chimoko ChiDanger”, also shared his grief.
“Garry was a good friend. I knew him about four years ago and on most occasions, we met during live shows. We would chat a lot before going on stage.
“Similarly, we would keep in touch through the phone, mostly discussing the state of the industry and family issues,” said Takura.
He believes Garry was a peace-loving man.
“He (Garry) was supportive and he was not selfish with ideas. Some six months back, I proposed a collaboration with him and his answer was‘Okay’. Three months later, we released the song.
“To be honest, I and others in the industry have lost a good friend.”
Veteran music producer and guitarist Clive Mono Mukundu said Mapanzure was “a decent young man”.
“I had the pleasant experience of working with him on a number of projects. He was not only a decent young man but was also disciplined. He loved his work and lived a scandal-free life,” Mukundu said.
Selmor Mtukudzi — an Afro-fusion artiste and daughter of the late national hero, Dr Oliver Mtukudzi — remembers Garry for his humbleness and dedication to music.
“He was talented, hardworking and very humble. I was devastated when I heard news of his passing on,” Selmor said.
Music producer and one of the founders of Chillspot Records, Arnold “DJ Fantan”Kamudyariwa, said he enjoyed working with the late musician.
“He was passionate about his work and never cut corners. It was a pleasure working with him and, as the Chillspot family, we are going to miss him,”he said.
In an interview with The Sunday Mail Society in Masvingo in February, where Garry was performing at Caravan Park, he talked about his dream of making Zimbabwe music famous around the world.
“My brother, my dream is to put Zimbabwean music on the world map. I am currently working towards achieving that,” he said then.
As fate would have it, his life was cut shot.
Garry was buried in Masvingo on October 15. May his soul rest in eternal peace!