COUNTRY MUSIC ICON ISSAC PASSES ON

MBABANE  – ‘We have lost a father.’

That was the message shared by some of the country music artists, after the sudden demise of the legend of country music Issac Gamedze.  The ‘Ramtutu’ hit maker was one of the pioneers in the country music, he was also considered as one of the people who initiated the Country Music Association and the Swazi Cowboy volume1. Speaking to one of his daughters Mbali , he shared that her father suffered from  pulmonary fibrosis. She described her father as a talented man full of integrity. “My father had six children; he was suffering from pulmonary fibrosis. He was a man of great integrity and he was immensely talented. No amount of words can quantify and describe the amount of love he had for us. He was truly an intelligent man, he loved music and the most beautiful gift injected to us was the talent he gave us and we are truly and forever grateful for that,” she said. Gazi ‘Dusty’ Simelane who is an award winning country musician poured his heart out and said the country music genre has lost a father.

Achieve

“I don’t know where to start, Gamedze was everything we consider him as a legend, we wouldn’t achieve so much if it wasn’t for him. He was a pillar, he discovered and motivated me. Our last encounter with him was last year in March. He was part of a country music show. I do not know what it means but he was currently working on an album but he said he would feature every country musician. On my feature track he sang his lyrics. I had the hope that he will be okay and we will get back to the studio,” he said.

Siphesihle Nkwanyana from Country Music Association expressed her heartfelt condolences. She said the late legend was a person who was always willing to help. She added that Gamedze was one of the icons that always encouraged local artist to sing in SiSwati.  “We have been robbed off an opportunity to explore country music. He had so many plans; he was working on an album and had many promising ideas. We are saddened by his sudden demise. He was always willing to help and motivated us,” she said.

It is worth noting that Nkwanyana’s music career began in 2003 with the late top country music star Isaac Gamedze. Isaac discovered her talent and asked her to join him. Gamedze was also one of the pioneers of Swazi Cowboy volume 1. “It would really be great for the industry to honour the legend. He has never received an award in other countries but he has always been one of the people that have influenced the current country generations.  What I also adored about him was that he was a selfless person and his passion for country music is what motivated some of us including the likes of Bholoja and Cleopatra to mention a few,” she added.

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