LATE Soul Jah Love’s family has described the talented Zimdancehall artiste as a hero whose music was therapy to his fans who experienced difficult social pressures.
Soul Jah Love, real name Soul Musaka, died Tuesday at Mbuya Dorcas Hospital, Waterfalls, Harare.
He was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital, according to a doctor’s report he had no pulse and his sugar level was high.
A postmortem was set to ascertain the cause of his death.
The musician, who was aged 31, has since been declared a liberation hero by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
However, speaking to NewZimbabwe.com some 24 hours before the honour was bestowed on him, Soul Jah Love’s elder brother, Tendai Mike Brighton Musaka said his sibling was a hero who lived his life with purpose and sang for the people.
With his lyrical and vocal prowess, Soul Jah Love had a rich discography with relatable tracks like, ‘Dai Hupenyu Hwaitengwa’, ‘Hupenyu Ivhiri’, ‘Kana Ndafa’ among others.
He sang as he lived and as such, his fans related to his music.
“He was a complete artiste. Saul was a hero.
“I am proud of his works, as an artiste, he impacted many with his music.
“The people he used to encourage with his songs would say to me ‘your young brother’s music has pulled me out of dark times’.
“I wish that if it was possible, he would listen to that music and wake up from the dead,” said an emotional Musaka.
The brother added that despite struggling with sugar diabetes for over 17 years, Soul Jah Love thrived to survive and learned to manage his condition well.
“He lived his life purposefully and very well despite the challenges of being over 17 years diabetic.
“He was diagnosed with sugar diabetes at a young age and there are fights he used to pull through until a stage where he could really maintain himself.
“But we all know that when one is born what is left is death.”