Nicholas Zakaria just died a month before turning 70, and the sungura legend got nicknamed Senior Lecturer because basically every major Zimbabwean musician from that era learned their craft under him. The guy founded Khiama Boys after ditching Shepherd Chinyani's Vhuka Boys over a tire blowout argument, and his crew featured future stars like Alick Macheso, System Tazvida, and Cephas Karushanga. Their hit Mabhauwa still slaps decades later.
Zakaria apparently rage-quit music at one point and locked up all the band equipment to become a truck driver, which pushed Macheso to start Orchestra Mberikwazvo. His wife, Margaret Gweshe, stuck with him through the whole journey, and he credited their relationship for surviving the AIDS crisis that killed off most of his peers. The dude never made serious money despite being wildly popular, and he spent his final days asking for financial help from fans.
Zakaria apparently rage-quit music at one point and locked up all the band equipment to become a truck driver, which pushed Macheso to start Orchestra Mberikwazvo. His wife, Margaret Gweshe, stuck with him through the whole journey, and he credited their relationship for surviving the AIDS crisis that killed off most of his peers. The dude never made serious money despite being wildly popular, and he spent his final days asking for financial help from fans.
