- Maskandi artists raised R200,000 through a WhatsApp group in less than a week to help the families bury Scebi Dlamini and Sipho Mchunu.
- Thousands of grieving fans travelled from several provinces to uMsinga to say goodbye to award-winning musician Scebi Dlamini at Mzisho Stadium.
Maskandi artists turned their grief into action after losing two of their own, raising R200,000 in less than a week to help give them fitting funerals.
The artists came together through a WhatsApp group following the deaths of award-winning musician Scebi "Inkosi yamaGcokama" Dlamini and his backup dancer Sipho "Gupta" Mchunu.
Their deaths shocked the maskandi community.
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But before the families could face the financial burden of burying their loved ones alone, fellow artists stepped in.
They collected R200,000 among themselves to help make sure Scebi and Gupta received dignified send-offs.
The scale of that support was revealed at Scebi's funeral at Mzisho Stadium in uMsinga in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands on Saturday.
Thousands of maskandi fans packed the venue to say their final goodbyes.
Some travelled from as far as the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and the Free State to honour the musician.
Maskandi legend Thokozani Langa told mourners that the artists had shown the true meaning of ubuntu by coming together when two families needed them most.
"We need to thank the Maskandi artists for the unity they showed to Scebi and Gupta," Langa said.
"When the news broke out about the death of Scebi and Gupta, we were all in shock but the artists quickly united and decided on an idea to arrange the funeral by collecting funds from each other to pay for the funeral in order to assist the families."
Langa said the R200,000 came from the artists themselves.
"As you can see there is no government money that was involved here, it's the artist who made this possible with the spirit of Ubuntu."
He urged maskandi musicians to continue standing together during difficult times.
"I really applaud and appreciate all of you my brothers and sisters for such spirit and let us continue with this kind of support for each other during these difficult times," he said.
Scebi and Gupta died following a horrific crash in eMpangeni in northern KwaZulu-Natal last weekend.
Scebi was travelling to the Basadi Let's Dance event in Richards Bay when his Toyota double cab was involved in the crash.
The crash was said to have involved a Volkswagen Polo and several other vehicles.
Scebi died at the scene.
His other backup dancers were taken to a local hospital, where Gupta later died.
The tragedy also brought attention to Gupta's family circumstances.
Maskandi fans who were touched by the poverty at his home donated hundreds of thousands of rands to help his family.
The outpouring of support showed how deeply the deaths had affected maskandi fans and musicians.
Content creators described Scebi's funeral as a massive gathering, saying the event dominated social media and drew enormous public attention.
The artists' decision to fund the funerals themselves also brought questions about government support for musicians and their families when artists die.
The Department of Sports, Arts and Culture and Minister Gayton McKenzie were not seen at the funeral.
McKenzie has separately faced criticism over more than R30-million reportedly spent around the Fifa World Cup on activations in North American cities, branding and delegations.
Scebi died while building the life his music career had made possible.
At the time of his death, he was putting the final touches on a double-storey mansion for his wife Mbali and their children in rural uMsinga.
His journey to maskandi stardom had started far away from the big stages and thousands of screaming fans.
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Before becoming an award-winning musician, Scebi worked as a general worker at a Spar supermarket in Johannesburg.
He once said in an interview that he earned R3,500 from his job at Spar.
Then music began changing his life.
A single performance could earn him R15,000, more than four times his monthly supermarket salary.
The difference eventually convinced him to leave his permanent job and put his faith in his musical talent.
That gamble turned him into a maskandi superstar.
Years later, thousands travelled across provincial borders to stand together in uMsinga and mourn the man whose music had touched their lives.
And when Scebi and Gupta needed one final show of support, their fellow artists did not leave their families to carry the burden alone.
They opened their wallets, stood together and turned their shock and grief into R200,000 worth of ubuntu.
