Just two months ago I got the chance to chat to HHP aka Jabba about death and the fragility of life.
It was the official memorial service in honour HHP’s late friend ProKid and we sat for a few minutes as busier bodies rushed around us in preparation for the service to begin.
“It’s very sad that you can be here one moment and gone the next. He (ProKid) meant a lot to me and it is very painful. It reminds you to take it a moment at a time,” HHP said.
He spent much of the service a stone throw away from me, often with his hands in his head as he stared into space.
It was evident that Pro’s death had taken a toll on HHP but he faced the sad day with courage. He spoke of releasing his “last album” soon, one of his biggest passions and something we had talked about at length just a few weeks earlier.
When ProKid died HHP was one of the first people I spoke to for tributes. He was emotional but told me that he would send something. A few hours later he sent me a voice note putting his tribute in near-poetic form and drawing from culture.
Little did either of us know that just over two months later Mzansi would be mourning his death.
HHP’s sentiments about ProKid have in the hours since his own death on Wednesday, lived as a telling tribute to his life.