“I will always sing about something that is positive and uplifting, because that is who I am. I do not know any other way“- Daddy Spencer
Reggae artist Mbulelo Michael Mato, known to many as Daddy Spencer, passed away at the age of 48. The cause of his death was not immediately given, one can only hope that he passed on peacefully. His untimely death robbed the community of a great Rastafarian Warrior, a skilled songwriter, a talented singer, a humble soul and a father figure to many. He earned his moniker Daddy Spencer very early in his career as his closest ally and friend Teba Shumba explained in his Facebook post:
“His delivery and articulate clarity in his execution was supreme and precise. He’ll give you Cutty Ranks, Tonto Irie, General Levi, Pinchers amongst many favorite artists we loved but couldn’t get to rhythm like them but Spencer executed them well. He nailed the grammar and performed his favorite artists songs too well for that era. He had a high IQ and good with maths and English language. His heart and personality were his supremacy. So amongst the first Raggamuffins in Gux his title got established long time ago,in Cape Town he mentored and wrote for GhettoMuffin a legendary crew that contributed to an icons like Shuga and Ginger Cobra Mischief being one of the artist that felt in love with his works and writing skills.” – Teba
Daddy Spencer was thee artist; most loved and respected by other artists because of the way he carried himself and how he made people who came in contact with him feel. He had that distinctive ability to bring out the best in people. Last year in August, Black Dillinger, another great artist, friend and ally,recalled the day he saw Daddy Spencer on TV, he (Dillinger) hadn’t had his break yet, and Daddy was one of the people he looked up to:
“Still vividly remember the day i 1st saw Daddy General Spencer On TV I was still a young boy bathing my self inside a vaskom at home in the room and I heard my cousin shouting Nkululeko Spencer is on TV I jumped out of the water rushing to the dinning room full of excitement to see our local star on TV in a way that I realized later that I was naked with my small lollipop Infront of my female cousins and their friends. dam well This Guy really Made Guguletu Proud in a way that whenever he visited his house we will flood his street just to see him together with his group mates from the Popular Kwaito group called “Tribe” Tiba Tiba hit makers from JHB and to be like him was the dream of every Cape Town Ghetto Youths, Best Vocalist Best Song Writer Very Humble and Yet Powerful like God Himself Musically Gifted who made many South Africans To Taste Reggae in Kwaito during those Youth Days unto me his my Father, Leader, Hero and Legend the real Super Star that made SABC and SA TV screen his Playground for the longest, I even hustled money to visit him in JHB and he accommodated me with love like a real father that he is to many of us who looked up on him “Buya Mntakwetu Khaw’Buye Khaya uMama Uyak’Khumbula” “Belinda” “Girl Would Believe Daddy Spencer Really Love You” OMG the list is long … #CapeTownReggaeGods #Legendary #HonourYourFounders #MzansiReggaeGurus – Black Dillinger – 19 August 2020
He was always appreciated and he received the love with so much humility, making sure that he acknowledges you.
Mbulelo Michael Mato was born on October 23, 1975 in Gugulethu, a township that lies 15km from Cape Town, South Africa. Its name is a contraction of igugu lethu, which is Xhosa for Our Pride. The pride of Daddy Spencer. He always opened his sets with: This is Daddy Spencer all the way from Gugulethu, Cape Town, South Africa. Gugulethu first, and the rest follows. He grew up in humble settings with his parents and two siblings, the third sibling having passed away in the early stages. He earned his stage name Daddy Spencer for his ability to nature, guide, inspire and motivate others. A fatherly figure who eventually got the moniker Di Gyals Defender.
He styled himself as Di Gyal Defender because he felt strongly about protecting vulnerable girls from predators. In his track Wild Flower produced by Rebelstone Music Lab in Cape Town, he talks of a 12 year old girl who had to run away from home because of the abuse she was enduring. A wild flower,
She is twelve years old / and so alone/If I could I would save her life/She was abused by her father/ from five til this time/.
It was not only in music that he defended the girls, he did that with his actions as well in the community as testified by many heartbroken Rasta Sistas in their genuine outpouring of grief and appreciation.
He was also a Brothers keeper. In another one of his many songs – tackling woman abuse – he talks directly to the abuser. He begs him to give her love and care rather than abuse, cos he is gonna miss her when she is gone. It shows how astute a person he was, being able to look at things from different angles to be able to at least try to tackle the problems. The brothers too, need that Man to Man talk. He had said it before, in his other dancehall track Sukumshaya (Don’t Hit Her) produced by Rebelstone Music Lab Cape Town.
In the video for Youth Man, one of his biggest hits produced by Spain imprint Segnale Digitale, we see Daddy in the ghetto talking about the plight of the ghetto youth, they do not have a plan and hanging at street corners, impoverished and susceptable to be lured into crime and violence. The story line takes a turn when Daddy Spencer takes action by taking the sky larking youth out of the ghetto to a different tranquil setting and showing him there is more to life outside of the ghetto and that he must take charge of his life. He does not wait for something tragic to happen before taking action.
He has been active in the music scene since the early nineties. He formed a Ragga /Hiphop fusion group called Ghetto Maffin with his home boys Ginger Cobra and Suga. They fused ragga and hip hop and made a name for themselves with hits like Heyo (Sound of the Ghetto), God is My Shield, Murderer. and made an impact around the ghettos and the greater Cape Town hiphop hot spots.
He later moved to Johannesburg where his longtime friend and fellow co-artist TEBA was already there and well integrated in the social and creative scene. At this time South Africa was emerging from the dingy old days of Apartheid and the youth had found their voice and created a genre called Kwaito, which became the national sound at that time. Teba would introduce him to Reason who was then part of Black by Nature crew. He joined Reason and became the founding member of a Kwaito group called ‘Trybe. The group of four, Mbulelo, Reason, William and Isaac released popular timeless hits like DIBA DIBA, Shelela, Chacha. They were hugely popular Daddy Spencer brought in the Ragga Muffin aspect to the group. In the same way that his friend TEBA added the Ragga Muffin element in the popular group SKEEM. This was a very common occurance in Kwaito, a fusion of all genres in South Africa. Universal Music Group SA quickly signed the group and Daddy Spencer was now enjoying success, touring the country and making TV appearances. The group got nominated at the KORA Awards. In an interview, Daddy Spencer stated that his favourite song of all time was Belinda, taken from the Diba Diba Kwaito album of 98. He said he liked the song because it was his first Reggae inspired tune that went national.
Daddy had to quit the group and return to Cape Town due to health challenges, but not before recording and realising his debut solo album HIYO produced by Gabi Le Roux in 2002 under the Universal Music Group SA label.
Back home in Cape Town Daddy made a full recovery and started hitting the local scene and fell back into Reggae and Dancehall. The Ragga scene was in full swing. He did some recordings with local productions, Spliff Records; Ghetto Sound, Rebels’Tone Music Lab, Blackstarliner Movement (Zimbabwe) and also overseas producers like Shiloh Ites (Sweden) and Segnale Digitale (Spain), Black Time Productions.
He released a slew of singles and featured in a lot of Riddims produced internationally and locally
He was drawn to soulful sounds yet could still deliver a hard core sound with meaningful lyrics that he would carefully lay on any beat be it Dub, Roots Reggae, Raggamuffin, Dancehall, hip hop and Kwaito. His polished reggae sound and clean lyrics appealed to a lot of international producers. He had such a good connection with the Spanish label Segnale Digitale and they went on to cut the Youthman Dub EP.
He had a knack for fusing different sounds and genres. and experimenting. In his independently produced album Wild Flower, he linked up with the Gugulethu Tenors for the track Mount Zion produced by Shiloh Ites.
He kept very close ties with his childhood friends, who were members of the Chronic Clan crew til his last days. He had travelled across South Africa and performed at events big and small. Toured internationally and still remained humble and accessible. A lover of life, an upright man who described himself as as a rastaman who feels deeply about the injustices in the world, feels strongly about the treatment of women. He was truly a legend and legends never die.
