The passing of Mr. Ray Chikapa Phiri on the 12th July 2017 touched me so deep that; I had to find an excuse to write about our local music talent and the untapped treasure of our unsung heroes; let alone the musical geniuses this country has ever produced. Music all over the world is known to be a force that unifies and brings people together. As if to keep hope alive and shower our aspirations and dreams with a renewed meaning to want to push for survival and move on. We are all touched and affected by music in reference to our favorite icons – the world over.

But, when you lose a musical genius and a leader like Ray Phiri, it’s like losing one of your close family relative. We are bound spiritually by music and the bonds we form with musicians. As fans we unravel our humanity when one of us is unsettled or is separated from us physically the pain is unbearable. This tribute cannot do justice to all of our deserving local South African musicians who have passed on and those still alive today. However, my heart goes deep, and back to the early days of our political struggles as a nation.  Music became our source of comfort and therapy against aggravation.

“As Blacks” our lives were intertwined but, tainted with despair, turmoil and uneasiness that were destined by Apartheid Masters to decide the fate of our daily bread. Yet, our inner peace was wanting the least trustingly tampered with by the powers that be. 

My trip down memory-lane was reminiscing of the good old days and how history can turn around to play our feelings against our intellect. It’s unimaginably difficult to know whether our lives are just another episode of time attempting to redefine our unity of purpose and self-indulgence with individual musical tastes and obsessions. Or we simply survive and face adversity because someone has their music turned on?