Not only artists suffer depression, says Hotstix

With depression becoming a hot topic in the wake of the death of SA hip-hop star Jabulani Tsambo, better known by his stage name HHP, music legend Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse yesterday called on people to care more.

Mabuse, who performs at the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town after a 30-year absence, said he was very fond of HHP.

“He was almost like my child because I grew up with his uncles, with his mom and dad, and some of his aunts were my classmates, so he was that little kid that I’ve always known,” said Mabuse.

“It came as a devastating shock to me because I didn’t expect it. I didn’t sense that something was wrong because every time I met him there was always this exuberance of energy from him. He was happy to see me and would give me a hug and we’d talk about things he’d want to do, things he believes I should advise him on – and the light was just extinguished like that.”

He encouraged not only artists, but all those suffering from the condition to speak about it.

“We also tend to focus too much on the artist – society on the whole. There are people going through these challenges. We’ve stopped caring. We’ve stopped doing that,” Mabuse said.

HHP died on Wednesday. His family has not confirmed the cause of death, but it is known that the rapper had previously talked about how he attempted to take his life.