Pretoria - Although friends and family prayed for Sammy ‘DJ Pencil’ Moripe to survive leukaemia and live a long life, he told them he was tired of the pain he endured.
This painful memory was shared during the funeral of the beloved Atteridgeville musician. The mourners remembered how cancer took the shining star last week.
As painful as that may have been to the family and friends who expressed their pain, it did not stop the crowd from ensuring they gave the 41-year-old an entertaining send-off, as Team Pencil had mourners dancing and singing along throughout the ceremony.
Dancing around his coffin, they showed the crowd that DJ Pencil was another hitmaker who was destined to join other late Pretoria-born music stars, DJ Sumbody and Vusi Ma R5, whose music and visuals would live on in their legacy.
The musician brought South Africa songs like, Suna Papa, Tshwara Tshwara, and Serope Ko Ntle.
He discovered three years ago that he had active cancer cells in his blood after he was involved in a car accident.
After enduring and fighting the pain in his body, DJ Pencil eventually succumbed to the illness in Kalafong Hospital on March 10.
His death and that of another musician, Costa Titch, left the country wondering what was happening to South African artists.
Family representative, Dr Angelina Setlhako, said it may not be easy, but everyone had to accept that he was gone, so that they could allow his spirit to leave the physical realm and head to heaven, where he would continue doing what he does.
She said like most men, the father of two fought the pain until it was so unbearable that they had to take him to hospital.
“He was strong, but the pain was just too much.
“It made his life difficult, and robbed him of his ability to do what he wanted when he wanted to.”
His friends, Thabiso Mthimkhulu and Lesego Setshedi, described him as a very humble person who was quiet and loved and respected people.
They said he was a hard worker who refused to be limited by his background; he chased his music dream from childhood until they started seeing him on TV.
Mthimkhulu said his “best friend” was an inspiration to many young people in Atteridgeville and Pretoria, because despite the hardships of the music industry, he never gave up.
He was determined to make it and end up making Bacardi music that would make people dance all over the country.
He was buried at Lotus Gardens cemetery on Saturday.
Pretoria News