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Brown Dash, whose real name was Simphiwe Mpamile, died at the Chris Hani-Baragwanath Academic Hospital in Soweto where he was admitted on Monday.
Brown Dash had been in and out of hospital since 2010 when he was diagnosed with pneumonia.
Last year in May his wife Lunga died. They had been separated for a while at the time of her death.
Ironically, Brown dash died the same day Brenda Fassie died from a drug overdose eight years ago.
Raymond Nsingo, who lives in Nkulumane 5, said the death of Brown Dash shocked him and he had lost a childhood star.
He said he remembered a time when Brown Dash and Mzekezeke came and performed at a packed ZITF show grounds and it was one of the greatest days of his life.
“I really enjoyed myself when my friends and I went for that show he was with Mzekezeke and Izinyoka Nyoka. I had fun. He left us so soon,” he said.
Nsingo said at the time TS records was iconic and would cherish the hits they made.
Bulawayo Dj Mark Vusani described the death of Brown Dash as a sad chapter in the history of Kwaito music.
“His death will leave a permanent dent in Kwaito music. Even local artists drew inspiration from him and the way he did things,” he said.
Vusani said Brown Dash played a big role in Kwaito in the last decade.
“He played a big role in Kwaito for the past decade releasing six albums and having a song of the year. He was also a great lyricist as Brown Dash had written songs for Mdu, Bricks, Zola and Mzekezeke,” he said.
Local Kwaito artist PoZee said the death of Brown Dash had robbed the Kwaito industry of an icon and an inspiration.
“We have lost an icon that was my inspiration. It is sad that he died so soon,” he said.
Brown Dash hit the big time alongside then stable-mate at TS Records Mzekezeke in 2002 with a smash hit Phans’komthunzi welanga.
His DJ Cleo-produced debut album Puff ‘n Pass from 2003 picked up a South African Music Awards (SAMAs) nomination, with the album Mthandazo Wabolova grabbing the Best Kwaito Album title in 2005.
After his third album, Dashboard, he left TS Records in 2007 amid financial disputes and released the failed album Back2Kasi.
When he appeared at the 18th edition of the SAMAs in Sun City two weeks ago, many people in the music industry expressed shock at his poor health.
His final performance was when together with Mduduzi “Mdu” Masilela he went down memory lane at the latter’s 40th birthday at DaVinci, Sandton, last Thursday.
There, too, Brown Dash’s health became the topic of the night. But he was quite energetic and seemed to have found a new lease of life showing his shockingly scrawny physique with protruding cheek bones.— Entertainment Reporter/sowetanlive.
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