Born Hillary Marufu in Chitungwiza, Master H now found himself in Harare, where he acquired an appetite for illicit substances such as mbanje and mutoriro. The omens for the producer-turned-Zimdancehall channel were not good. With very few rehabilitation centers, many young people fail to recover from such addictions in Zimbabwe.

Instead, they fall through the cracks, with their potential and talent lost to the country and the world forever. Fast forward to two years later, Master H is on top of the world, with a string of hits, including the Voltz-assisted Dhanzi (Nawanadem) which has shot to the top of the charts in Zimbabwe.

Just how did he do it? Nehanda Radio takes a look
In an interview before he shot to stardom two years ago, Master H revealed that he had been rehabilitated after falling prey to drugs.

“Personally, I see a lot of change in my life from where I was to where I am,” he told ZIFM. “Now I can make a song, I can hear it on the radio. I can make a song and video and see a lot of people.

“I am glad that I got help, I was taken to the hospital and given the right medication by doctors. I am now a true version of Master H.”

The chanter said pressure to attain success like his peers had driven him towards drugs. “I used to think I was underrated. I want young people, ghetto youths and others yuts my age to understand that drugs are not good for you.

“I used to get high a lot. I took drugs, I took mutoriro, and other substances because I used to worry about what my tomorrow would bring. I used to worry about what would become of me. I used to wonder how I would make my mother proud because there’s nothing I can do better than music. That used to stress me because I was making music but nothing was coming out of it. What used to stress me is that I emerged at the same time as the likes of Silent Killer, Boom Beto, and others.

“I would be on fire for two minutes and I would fizzle out. So I used to wonder if it was sabotage, bad spirits, or something else pulling me back but I soon realized that this was drugs. I was just stubborn at the time because I would be high,” he said.

At the time of that interview, Master H had been three months sober. He revealed that the key to the change that he underwent at the time was his decision to turn to God.

“I reached a point where I said I had enough of drugs. I went to church. The team I was now with, Dr Bond Entertainment, encouraged me to follow God. Now I’m in an apostolic sect and I shaved my head. Now I found God. That step led to a huge change in my life. Now I can put food on the table, I can go home and my mother smiles because she’s glad her son is home,” he said.

Even though he had managed to get himself “clean”, Master H said he was worried about fellow musicians who were hooked on drugs.

“There’s a lot of drug use in the industry. That’s why you’ll see a lot of people having fights with their managers or being told that so and so can’t be worked with. It’s all because of drugs. I am here as a living testimony to show that drugs are bad,” he said.

A confessed funny man, Master H said he wanted people to be happy when listening to his music.

“I want people to be happy through my music. I grew up in the ghetto and that’s a place where you go to ask for salt next door if you don’t have any in your own home. You can never die of hunger in the ghetto even if you don’t have anything. Growing up there showed me and I want that love to spread all over the whole,” he said.

In other news – ZESA Holdings sued US$36,000 for breaching contract

ZESA Holdings is facing legal action from a security company, Manifest Security (Private) Limited, which is seeking US$36,660 in damages for an alleged breach of a services contract. The plaintiff’s case, however, was dismissed by High Court judge Justice Siyabona Musithu.

According to court documents, on November 3, 2021, Manifest Security filed a lawsuit against ZESA, claiming damages of US$36,660 due to the breach of a contract signed by both parties. The contract, initiated on December 28, 2020, required Manifest Security to provide security guard services at eleven assigned sites, as per ZESA’s tender reference number ZH/RFP/13/2020. Read More