Langalakhe Mabena
The late king of Zim Hip Hop, Mgcini “Cal_vin” Nhliziyo might be gone, but he is not forgotten as he had a spirit of uniting young talent and giving them equal opportunities in the arts industry.
He was a brother and a colleague to many in the Bulawayo arts scene and as the first anniversary of his death on 25 October is commemorated, his family, fans and the rest of the city is yet to find closure on his fatal demise caused by a “hit and run”.
Cal_Vin is still living among us and he is manifesting through different bodies especially on artistes he groomed at his stable, Kontrol Tribe Music, that comprises Mawiza, Mzistoz Mfanafuthi and Tebza, among others.
When Cal_Vin died, Kontrol Tribe was two weeks away from releasing a full-length album.
This all seems to be resting with Cal_Vin at his grave at Lady Stanley cemetery as the album did not see the light of day.
This was because it was trapped in a desktop which was used at Kontrol Tribe Studios in the Zkhuphan hitmaker’s bedroom at his home in Luveve 5.
A lot of projects are stuck in the machine.
Cal_Vin himself had five albums on the desktop, Mawiza’s Last Namba full length solo album is trapped inside the machine as well as Mzistoz Mfanafuthi’s Extended Play.
These are only a few artistes that Cal_Vin recorded and whose music careers he managed.
A lot of artistes were affected and the process to access their music in the studio will be a hard nut to crack.
The Nhliziyos are scared that Cal_Vin’s music material will be lost, if not stolen, if the projects are handled by many hands.
Therefore, the family has agreed to “fly” the studio monitor to the United Kingdom where Cal_Vin’s “twin” sister Nombulelo Nobukhosi Jubane is based.
Jubane has been charged by the Nhliziyo family to seek a professional sound engineer who is going to retrieve and master the projects so that the copyright remains under Cal_Vin’s name.
Mawiza, who was introduced in the music scene by the late kingpin back in 2015 said personally he respected the decision taken by the Nhliziyo family.
“I respect the wishes of the family because we must hear everything from them so that Mgcini continues resting in peace.
“When he died, we were set to release an album as Kontrol Tribe and it was done and ready to be distributed. I also had my solo album titled Last Namba which was also trapped in the system. I had to re-record it and it was a struggle.
“Besides Last Namba, Cal_Vin worked with almost everyone in Bulawayo and a lot of people’s projects can be found on that computer.
“We pray that the materials go to the UK and come back home and are distributed in a rightful manner that Cal will also respect,” said Mawiza.
Mzistoz Mfanafuthi who was supposed to drop his EP this year in April said he had started re-recording his offering again.
“After Cal died, I had a lot of songs that he managed and produced. I realised it was hard for it to be accessed in the studio after his demise. So, I had to re-record some of the songs.
“It was a rough journey to restart recording because sometimes I feel the songs were not done properly like before.
However, I accepted and soldiered on and I promise once the project is done it will be fire,” said Mzistoz Mfanafuthi.
As a way of celebrating Cal_Vin’s life, his mother Sinikiwe Luphahla said she had given the green light to the late’s friends to use her household as a venue for the remembrance.
A stage will be set in Luveve 5 and artistes will perform to honour Cal_Vin’s contribution to the local music sector.
