Soul Jah Love: Too Good To Be Forgotten

By Lennon Mudzengerere

I hate writing about Soul Jah Love. Every time I put pen to paper with the intention of writing about the best chanter to ever get a chance to hold a microphone on Zimbabwean soil, I am often overwhelmed by tears.

This year it has been worse with the release of Vybz Kartel from prison being mere months before the anniversary of Soul Musaka’s death. Parallels have always been drawn between Soul Jah Love and Vybz Kartel, and seeing Vybz Kartel get a new lease on life only makes me wonder what could have been if Soul had lived slightly longer.

Unfortunately due to nature’s unforgiving call, that is an answer that me and the legion of the ghetto youths that answer to the call of the “Conquering” family can never give.

Vybz Is Out But Sadly You Are Gone!

In 2014, on March 12, the Saturday Herald published an article titled “Soul Jah Love: Zim's Own Vybz Kartel”. It was a clear comparison that highlighted the similar paths the two artists had taken. Each is immensely talented but also plagued by controversies.

Someone thought Soul Jah Love was comparable to Vybz Kartel? I remember reading that article in the cold Mavhudzi High Library and seething with pride.

The part where they mentioned Sauro’s controversies did not ring any bells in my mind. They had written a whole article and compared him to the World Boss, and that was good enough for me. That was my biggest takeaway, and I could not have been more proud. This was months before the STING, and we all know how that ended.

Now it's nearly 11 years since that article was published. Soul Jah Love has been in the afterlife for four years whilst Vybz Kartel is not even a year into his freedom. Vybz Kartel has shown a whole new persona since his release.

In each interview, he has acknowledged God and highlighted how much of a better person he has become. On the other end, our Sauro never got
that chance to leave his old ways and repackage his character. It saddens me that the mighty
Sauro never got a chance to rewrite his story beyond his rich discography.

Rewriting Sauro’s Legacy

There has been a spirited effort to paint Soul Jah Love as nothing but a drug addict on social media. Nothing infuriates me more, and with each tweet that only highlights Sauro’s drug habits, I sob a bit and ask the Lord to forgive the author’s ignorance. I am not going to paint Sauro a saint here, but if you are going to call him a drug addict, the least
you can do is also acknowledge the positivity he brought to the world.

I do not want to play Devil’s Advocate here, but when Soul Jah Love popped onto the scene, he was only twenty-two and unceremoniously exited at thirty-one. He was a young man singing about his own lived experiences in the ghetto. If you are going to fault him for what he went through, then it is nothing but just raw hate.

Apart from the keyboard critics, everyone else agrees that Soul Musaka’s imprint on the
Zimbabwean music scene is eternal. With each wave of new artists, we can all hear Sauro’s DNA as they chant.

The biggest superstar at the moment, Chillmaster, is a self-proclaimed prodigy of Sauro, and all we can be is thankful for his imprint on the new generation. Even Hwinza has on record told the press that he would not be here without Soul’s influence.

Rest Easy, Chibaba

I wish you could come back and chant another verse. Some days I wish you had never popped
because why would the Lord give us so much talent and swipe it away in no time? Then I hear you shout “Concussion” on that Ba Shupi record or “Chibababa” on that Queen Vee record.