Soul Jah Love was an award-winning Zimbabwean artist credited as one of the pioneers of mainstream ZimDancehall. Often called Chibaba (loosely translated The Father) by his fans, Soul Jah Love had a rare, unique talent which made his songs to have deep meaning and introspect on certain aspects of life for many, especially Zimbabwean ghetto youths. He was undoubtedly one the most creative artists in the genre which made many to draw comparisons of him with Jamaican Vybz Kartel.
Soul Jah Love cat... moreSoul Jah Love was an award-winning Zimbabwean artist credited as one of the pioneers of mainstream ZimDancehall. Often called Chibaba (loosely translated The Father) by his fans, Soul Jah Love had a rare, unique talent which made his songs to have deep meaning and introspect on certain aspects of life for many, especially Zimbabwean ghetto youths. He was undoubtedly one the most creative artists in the genre which made many to draw comparisons of him with Jamaican Vybz Kartel.
Soul Jah Love catapulted into fame in early 2012 with singles "Ndini Uya uya" and "Gum-kum" which enjoyed wide radio play and got him a ZimDancehall Award accolade for Best Upcoming Artist. He followed up and released countless songs which were popular, with most of the songs reflecting his personal life like hit songs such as Pamamonya Ipapo, Dai Hupenyu Hwaitengwa, Zvihombe Zviri Pandiri, Kana Ndafa. He was known for making the "Chibabababa", "Hauite Hauite", "Conquering" and "Mafundan'a" signature chants which appear in most of his songs and is credited for popular street lingos like Mwana waStembeni, Naka Dhula Daka, Chibaba, Makurwani among others. He used rich language to express himself and inspire his generation as he defied all odds that were stacked against him. The King of ZimDancehall, Soul Jah Love had a mesmerising freestyle style, he could sing about anything, anywhere at any time without a pen and paper.
Born Soul Musaka, his life was plagued with loss, tragedy and tribulations, almost from birth, with his mother dying when he was a toddler, to getting diagnosed with diabetes at 7. His grandmother, who became his guardian, died when he was 10, followed by losing his twin brother John at 15 and his father dying in 2005. At 16 his step-mother had him evicted from the family home and he took to living in the streets of Mbare as a street kid, hence his other self-given nickname Chigunduru. He however had decent education having attended Prospect Primary School and later on Lord Malvern High School where he started showing interest in singing. He once worked in Cape town, South Africa as a waiter and had to come back after falling sick and later became popular Urban Grooves artist, Roki, backing vocalist which is when he started to work on recording his own songs.
Soul Jah Love courted many controversies especially for missing shows which left many of his fans and promoters disappointed many times and in one instance, he took to the stage, chanted: “Chibababa . . . conquering” and left, angering many fans. The media always speculated drug addiction, a problem he was open about, and acknowledged it started when he was a street kid. Between 2015 and 2016, Soul Jah Love’s music career started getting compromised as he continuously failed to pitch up at shows but in February, 2016 in a rare interview with Star FM personality KVG, he took his time to clear the air explaining his health challenges and blamed the drug abuse rumours on his face which he said resembled that of a druggie. In November 2014, he was involved in a stage fight with a fellow dancehall musician Seh Calaz at City Sports Centre in Harare in one of the biggest ZimDancehall bashes where there were about 17,000 fans in attendance. Whilst performing, Soul Jah Love went on to attack Calaz causing mayhem and injuring about ten people when the Zimbabwe Republic Police tried to disperse people using tear gas. At the time, he also went on a spree of firing managers, something his fans felt was due to his drug abuse but he defended his decisions citing his ‘condition’ which some managers failed to appreciate and providing him medication on time. In 2016, he was seriously injured on the way to a concert in Victoria Falls by a car accident in Gweru. In December 2018, it was reported that the musician caused quite a stir on a South African bound flight at the Robert Mugabe International Airport when he was arrested for his unruly conduct on the flight.
His life-story and controversy torn his fans many times but in 2016, knowing fully well how people had lost faith in him because of his constant no-shows, he once shocked many when he performed on a wheelchair with his left leg bandaged due to foot ulcer. He performed his entire set seated in the wheelchair and received sympathy from fans who sang along with him. Soul Jah Love had successful collaborations with a number of locally established musicians including Winky D, Roki, Suluman Chimbetu, Trevor Dongo, Shinsoman, Freeman, Critical, Chill4real, PTK and Cello Culture among others. Soul Jah Love toured in foreign countries such as South Africa and the United Kingdom (UK) and also became one of the few dancehall singers to play alongside a live band (the largest ever after those of Oliver Mtukudzi and Alick Macheso).
He had some business ventures and in 2014 he was appointed brand ambassador for Jan Jam Fashions. In 2015 he started his own record label Conquering Records which consisted of his wife Bounty Lisa, two dance groups Conquering Clark dancers and award wining hip hop dance Hood Crankers and several other artists. Alongside former wife Bounty Lisa, Soul Jah Love also opened a food canteen in Mbare in an effort to augment their revenue with plans to spread the outlets across Harare. He also announced he had gone outside his comfort zone by shooting a movie titled Ndini Uya Uya based on his hit song of the same title that is based on his life story.
Soul Jah Love was once married to fellow ZimDancehall musician Bounty Lisa, real name Lisa Musenyi. The two are believed to have bumped into each other at popular Chill Spot Studios in Matapi Flats in Mbare. The two did some collaborations together on a number of songs while they were husband and wife. It was reported that Soul Jah Love turned violent and went on a rampage after taking an undisclosed drug assaulting his wife Bounty Lisa using fists and an iron bar accusing her of infidelity and of carrying another man’s child. However, Bounty Lisa disputed the accusation saying that she was not even pregnant and blamed the unknown drug for causing Soul Jah Love to become paranoid. He and Bounty Lisa got divorced. Bounty Lisa remarried and successfully conceived a child and he released a song called “Ndichavigwa Ne Gonzo” in which he expressed how deep he wanted a child of his own. Soul Jah Love remained single and heartbroken as he claimed that he was still in love with Bounty Lisa.
Soul Jah Love died on 16 February 2021; the musician was pronounced dead upon arrival at Mbuya Dorcas Hospital where he was taken by his friends after succumbing to diabetes. According to a doctor’s report, he had no pulse upon admission and his sugar was high. Soul Jah Love will be remembered as one gifted artist and entertainer whose diverse lyrics touched the hearts of all age groups, from the young to the old in Zimbabwe. His life is reflective of how challenging life can be but with dedication and focus one can still achieve success beyond their wildest dreams.
Soul Jah Love was conferred a liberation hero status for his role in actively advocating for the emancipation and liberation of people in post-independence Zimbabwe. He received government assisted funeral and burial at the Warren Hills Cemetery (Provincial Heroes Acre). Traditionally in Zimbabwe the conferment of the liberation hero status was restricted to people heavily aligned to politics and the Zimbabwe liberation struggle. Over the years the conferment has changed in form and context and Soul Jah Love became the first to be declared such for the born-free generation (post independence-Zimbabwe generation, born after April 1980).
Panashe Nhemera
Quite a misunderstood young man who lived his life made his choices and enjoyed what he did. To me i found his freestyles to super amped and i don't think the Zim Dancehall fraternity had ever seen anything like talent of this magnitude. Sad moment #MHRIP
