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Leeroy Dzenga

Arts Reporter

Drummer Delroy “Scara” Maripakwenda was laid to rest at Warren Hills Cemetery yesterday at a funeral attended by top names in the arts sector.

Scara — who was considered one of the foremost instrumentalists in the country — succumbed to heart complications on Sunday morning.

He was 29.

His funeral brought together the entertainment industry, a testament of the impact he had in showbiz.

Winky D, Stunner, Vokal, DJ Iroq, Bridges Chimanga, Layaan and other prominent figures were in attendance.

At the time of his death, he had just finished setting up a music collective known as Tha NuVyb in which he was the drummer, working with DJ Burtler and Mc Tatts.

They were performing in clubs and corporate events fusing live music and deejay sets.

In recognition of the work he did at Tha NuVyb, Judgment Yard emcee Abisha Palmer described Scara as a pioneer.

“He had introduced a new style, besides having worked with a number of bands, he was venturing into being a drummer for the club scene. This was something which was yet to be tried in Zimbabwe and Scara was brave enough to pioneer the idea. He could have easily joined another band, but he felt it was time to try his own thing,” said Palmer.

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Rapper Stunner struggled to come to terms with the drummer`s sudden departure.

“I am hoping someone will come and say it was a prank. Up to now, it is still hard to believe that Scara is no more. He used to play drums for me when I performed and truly this is a blow. We always assumed we have all the time in the world. No one could imagine that we would be robbed of such a young genius in this way,” said an emotional Stunner.

Prior to his death, he had  projects that were in the pipeline and collaborators could not fathom completing them in his absence.

He was co-hosting an annual festival in Karoi with DJ Langton B.

Music promoter, Spencer ‘Boss Spencer’ Madziya bemoaned the deaths of young artistes in the industry.

“It is painful, when young promising talent is taken away from us in such a manner. Of course these things cannot be predicted, but it difficult to handle losing someone with an evidently promising future,” Madziya said.

Born in Kambuzuma, Scara burst on to the scene as Winky D`s drummer during his best touring phase.

During his career, he also played for many artistes, including Sabastian Magacha, Garry Tight among others.

As he lay in state on Monday night his parents house, the front yard was transformed into a concert venue as musicians came to perform tributes for Scara.

Sulumani Chimbetu, Trevor Dongo, Bazooker and Majuice were among those who consoled mourners by way of song.