On 9 August, South Africa woke up to the untimely passing of Mongezi Stuurman, better known as Mpura. The amapiano artist died in a car accident that claimed six lives including that of fellow musician Killer Kau, as well as upcoming artists Khanya “The Voice” Hadebe, DJ Thando Tot and TD. Rustenburg firefighter, Sanza Mohumi, also sadly lost his life in the accident. Now, almost two months later, Mpura’s compatriot and fellow amapiano artist, Busta 929, has released an EP in memory of his late friend, calling it Umsebenzi Wethu EP: Tribute To Mpura.
The 6-track EP is a composite of songs that Busta crafted to honour and commemorate Mpura’s life and each song has a characteristic that he attaches to his dearly departed friend. Speaking on one of the standout songs on the EP, he says: “The song that reminds me of Mpura is the ‘Umsebenzi Wethu 2.0’ track because he loved the instrumental and we would dance to it pulling our crazy dance moves. Unfortunately, he passed away before we could record and make a song from it. I just figured I should take the vocals from the original one and add them on the instrumental because he loved it.”
The features on the EP carry on the tradition and spirit of Mpura and they include the likes of Lady Du, Almighty, Soulful G, Mgiftoz SA, Mzu M, Thembii, Boohle, Sje Konka and Zuma – with Mpura himself making posthumous appearances on two songs. Busta shared the following last sentiments when speaking about Mpura, “I would like to thank Mpura for being a part of my life, I enjoyed every moment I spent with him, and he was one of the few who could put a smile on my face. Today I can smile and interact with my fans because he taught me how to smile.”
Listen to Busta 929’s Umsebenzi Wethu EP: Tribute To Mpura