DJ Tira tells mourning Babes Wodumo to get out of her comfort zone

DJ Tira has encouraged Babes Wodumo who is mourning her husband Mampintsha, to get back on the music saddle and dish out chart topping hits again.

Tira was among the speakers at Mampintsha’s memorial service held on Thursday at the eThekwini Community Church in Durban.

“Babes must go back to the top of the charts. When she joined the music industry she was charging R100,000 per gig. You [Babes] should not be comfortable [with earning less] and you need to get out of your comfort zone if you want to go back to the top. You need to work hard and have a focus. Also, we still have Sponge [Babes’ child] to raise because Mampintsha is no longer with us. We as his friends, we will do anything for him [Mampintsha],” said Tira.

Babes Wodumo, real name Bongekile Simelane, started out as a dancer for Gqom musicians in Durban and then rose to fame in 2016 with a breakthrough hit Wololo which was in her debut album Gqom Queen. It was followed by the release of Idandokazi in 2020, which received mixed reviews and could not surpass the success of its predecessor.

Tira told mourners that Ngeke, the new hit from Big Nuz [Mampintsha’s music group] has brought back the sound of Gqom to the limelight.

“Ngeke will break the year on December 31st. Big Nuz is the only group to disappear for ten years and then come back with the hit song. Amapiano gave Gqom a run for its money but we decided to stick to our Gqom sound. Mampintsha taught us to stick to what we are good at,” said Tira.

Danger (real name Mzi Tshomela), the only remaining member of Big Nuz, said the band’s name will remain relevant because “we are not going anywhere as Big Nuz. We will build a Big Nuz empire.”

Mampintsha died on Christmas Eve at Durdoc Hospital after he suffered a stroke a week before.

Earlier in the day his father, Thembinkosi Maphumulo told mourners that he was struggling to cope with his son’s passing.

“I’m sorry for being emotional because he was my only son and his passing still cuts deep... The way he died still pains me because he fell sick for a short period before he left us. He spoke to me during his time at hospital and assured me that he still walks with God and He still blesses him in his career. That meant a lot to me because most people would say that he lost his Christian values because of the music he was affiliated with,” said Maphumulo between taking long pauses fighting back the tears.

“God has always been with me even when I was raising him (Mampintsha). He (Mampintsha) was raised in church singing for a choir and that made him a people’s person. Wherever I went after his passing, people would give me their support and to me that meant I had raised a great man in Mampintsha,” said Maphumulo.

Mampintsha will be laid to rest on Friday, 30 December, at the Durban ICC.