Did Sungura die with Tongai Moyo?

As a nation it seems Zimbabwe thrives on rivalries and competition.Dynamos versus Highlanders,Robert Mugabe versus Morgan Tsvangirai,Oliver Mtukudzi versus Thomas Mapfumo and in recent times Nero versus ED.Is it a point of view subconciously wired into our DNA or we are just the African poster childs of iron sharpening iron?Whatever it is its quite clear that competition and rivalries have helped keep the masses entertained while creating notoriety and earning creatives bag.

In the sungura world one of the most epic rivalries was the one involving Tongai Moyo and Alick Macheso.Inuendo,subliminals and outright attacks on each other became the order of the day as Dhewa and Baba Shero tried to outsmart each other in song and during shows.'Usavhundutsurwe nezizi kuti rine nyanga,hadzisi nyanga inzeve' shouted Macheso with Tongai retorting 'Hongu munoziva wani kuti zizi harina nyanga asi kuti rakagara pamusoro penyanga'.Unfortunately Tongai Moyo was to pass on at the height of his beef with Macheso and many have argued that his death was also the death of Sungura as we knew it then.Macheso never stopped releasing music but something is definitely lacking in his music.

In fact Macheso has released many songs since then but it can be argued that Ndezvashe was his last super solid release.Tafadzwa Nyarara and them apparently did numbers but the quality of the work in terms of the lyrical content and the guitar work has not touched his work pre-Ndezvashe.At the height of his rivalry with Tongai Moyo Sungura was the dominant genre in the country with him and Tongai being the top two cats in the game but dancehall has since taken over a fact made extra clear with how his recent output of note in years is a dancehall collaboration with Freeman.That he added flair to that tune and that he still talks to the crowd with each perfomance is a definite positive in his favor.Only time will tell if another sungura star of note will get Baba Shero and a legion of other sungura greats still among us off their comfy seats into the same mindset that gave us so much good content when Dhewa and Macheso were going at each other's necks with epic releases that captivated a nation.