The man who nurtured a struggling Jah Payzah says the man of the moment has forgotten all about him.
Music promoter Partson Chimbodza says 10 years after Jah Prayzah walked into his office he has not heard from him. Chipaz told of how Mabla, the then Jah Prayzah’s manager came knocking on his door asking for help.
“Mabla came to my office asking how I could help his artist. I asked if they had a show somewhere in town and he said they were not booked for any shows. He later invited me to a show and I went but seeing that they were busy I asked him to come to my office.
“Mabla and Jah Prayzah then came to see me and the first thing I asked was what sort of assistance they were looking at and Jah said he didn’t have mbira instrument. I drove them and we bought the mbira for US$120 and gave it to him,” Chipaz said.
That aside, Chipaz also gave Jah Prayzah his Mercedes Benz in pristine condition following which he smashed it in an accident.“I then took my wife’s car which was another Merc in mint condition and gave it to Jah but 10 years down the line I’ve not heard from him,” he said.
Chipaz told Gem Nation News that he also helped many musicians “I can safely say I made
Tongai Moyo popular as much as he made the Chipaz brand popular, I helped Jah Prayzah and Andy Muridzo through financial and material support.
“I was also there during Killer T’s formative years when he was still a nonentity,” Chipaz said. He continued: “It’s not that I want anything from them NO! But at least they should appreciate those helped them.
“But guess what, musicians are like footballers, they do not have permanent friends but permanent interests. When they grow big and find other people while their star is still shining, they completely forget who and where they came from.”
“Then came Andy Muridzo. Do you know I was the first one to sign him? “But here is the thing, after signing the contract I told him that we wanted to launch his ‘Dherira’ album in style just like we did with ‘Tsviriyo’.
“I went and asked the police and city council to get clearances and we got an escort, blocked all the roads and made noise about the album launch. We had a massive launch and only a day after Andy calls me and says he wanted to go it alone.
“For some reason I couldn’t refuse and I said YES come and we revoke the five year contract which we signed three months before the album launch.
“I literally tore the paper into pieces because I didn’t want him to come back and say we had binding contract,” Chipaz said. After that Andy Muridzo drove his first car given to him by Chipaz.
The first one he smashed it and was given a second car which he again knocked.