Everything was finally coming together for hip hop star Nkululeko “Flabba” Habedi.
Late last year, Habedi began making his comeback to the hip hop industry, releasing his first single in years and featuring in one of this year’s biggest songs, Do Like I Do.
“His career was coming up again. It was exciting even for me. It was inspirational,” said local musician Ishmael Morabe, who was shocked when he heard that the rapper had been killed in his home.
As part of the top seven-piece hip hop act Skwatta Kamp, Habedi gave the music genre the jolt it needed in South Africa.
In 2003, after their celebrated, independently released Skwatta Kampain debut album, the group signed a widely publicised multi-million-rand deal with Gallo – opening the doors for many underground rap artists.
Morabe added on Monday: “He was a cool guy, always joking around. I don’t know anybody who had a beef with him.”
Last November, Habedi signed onto Tabure Thabo Bogopa jr, aka JR’s label, Feel Good Music. By then, he had featured on DJ Sliqe’s song Do Like I Do with rapper Kwesta.
He followed that by releasing a single featuring JR called Nayin-kinga.
Nearly 8 000 people saw him perform at the weekend’s AxecessJozi concert, and screamed when he came on stage as a surprise guest.
Close friend and fellow Skwatta Kamp member Siyabonga “Slikour” Metane watched on, smiling, as the man he calls his brother pleased the crowd with a verse.
Writing about Habedi’s death on his blog, Metane said on Monday:
“In the last three weeks we were talking more often and I wonder what else I would have said if I knew this was God’s way of telling me he’s saying farewell… to not only me but to all of us that heard him the last time on the Do Like I Do track, on Live Amp this past Friday, on stage at the AxecessJozi event on Saturday and last night (Sunday) at Smakx and JR’s event.”
Metane spoke of Habedi’s love for his neighbourhood in Alexandra and his family.
“As a man, he showed us the most important thing is family. Flabba always talks about his daughter and even in our last conversation a few weeks ago, he was talking about how he wants to always make sure his kids are taken care of,” Metane said.
Reality star and musician Dineo Ranaka was distraught after learning of the killing.
She tweeted: “I love you SO DEEP my boy. SO DEEP! I will miss you SO bad! F**K THE B***H THAT STOLE YOU FROM YOUR KIDS!!! F**k the devil! NO ONE in this messed up industry of ours loved me, accepted me, took me as I am like you did. NO ONE. The only TRUE friend I made. WHY YOU? I will never call u and u pick up and we talk deep about our kids and all sorts of junk cause some basic pretty b**** got angry & killed you.”
According to Habedi’s brother Tshepang, he was stabbed once in the heart by his girlfriend.
Although police had not said who the woman is, social media users were circulating pictures of a woman they think killed the rapper.
The pictures were taken off Habedi’s Instagram account.
The dead musician describes the woman as his “ride or die girl”.
The woman first appears on Habedi’s Instagram account in November 2013, and he had posted lovingly about her since.
One of the photographs he captioned: “My woman, friend, soulmate, partner… my n****. I ain’t never seen such a pretty G!”
And in another he, wrote: “My mom says she got a honey coated heart. My #sugarface.”
A close friend of Habedi’s told the Sowetan that he had witnessed the beginning of the argument.
“I’ve known him for 13 years, I was actually with him last night. I was partying with him and he dropped me off at home. I got a call literally an hour after he dropped me off (2am)…
“An argument between the couple turned out to be something bigger than what we thought it would be. This is not something we expected, the fight was not even physical, it was a verbal argument that they were having, we did not think it would escalate to this,” he said.
EWN reported on Monday that Habedi’s brother and a cousin, Luyanda, had tried to resuscitate the rapper.
Luyanda claimed that when the woman realised the rapper was dying, she tried to take her own life, EWN said.
“She broke a bottle and she tried slitting her wrist.”
The woman was expected to appear in the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court this morning.
The Star