Some of Fumgisai’s classic poses and dress sense
Bongani Ndlovu Showbiz Correspondent
CONTEMPORARY musician Fungisai Mashavave-Zvakavapano, now known as Killer F or Ras Fungi, is not amused by memes of her pose which have gone viral on social media networking sites.
Fungisai, who had been keeping a low profile, resurfaced last year when she featured on what instantly became a hit track with Killer T. In no time, their song – Vanondibatirana – was awarded Best Collaboration at the 2015 Zimdancehall awards.
It was at this point that Fungisai made her major public appearance as a Zimdancehall artiste. Trying to impress and look the part, she rocked up on the awards red carpet in a plush convertible BMW with four bikers escorting her. Mission accomplished it was as she momentarily stole the limelight at the event.
But surprisingly, she seemed to have diverted all the attention to the grand entrance and forgot to focus on her outfit which got people talking as it was somehow outdated. Adding onto the not so nice outfit, Fungisai went on to hog the limelight with a weird pose on the red carpet where it looked like she was squatting. As a result of the unusual pose, people are now enjoying cartooning her, photo shopping her picture with other unrelated ones to make it hilarious.
This has, however, angered the Makomborero hit-maker who is clearly not used to such scrutiny from the public as she has been hiding behind the gospel.
Yesterday, through her Facebook fan page, Fungisai bemoaned what she calls cyber bullying by people who have created memes criticising her for poor dress sense and picture poses. She said this was the worst time of her life as she has lost appetite and sleep over the issue.
Reacting to the latest memes created from a picture she took at the ZiFM Stereo studios where she was dressed in a red dungaree with matching red boots last Saturday, Fungisai said she believed this bullying was being caused by those jealous of her success.
“This cyber bullying is my worst experience but ndangosiira zvese (I’ve left it all) in God’s hands. I’ve gone for days without appropriate sleep or food all because I’m being attacked for the success of Daidzai Vakuru competitors and enemies baying for my blood,” posted Fungisai.
Chief among those who are spreading the memes are comedian Carl Joshua Ncube and Internet sensation – Thomas CST Chizhanje who spent the better part of the weekend sharing the jokes. Ncube went on to give Fungisai a pet name, Ras Fungisai.
She said although she was discouraged, God was going to be her strength in this time of need.
“My personal life is shaken. It’s a miracle that I can still hold my shoulders high and wave back, pose for pictures with thousands of fans I meet when travelling in my branded car under the circumstances.
“God knows I’ve lived all my life to please him and people. At least I’ve tried, Mwari ngavandirwire pahondo iyi (May God fight this war for me) because my dream still has to come true and I’ll not succumb to these attacks, not before the mission is over,” said Fungisai.
On her dressing, Fungisai said people needed to appreciate her as a “simple, natural artiste”.
“I’m a simple, natural artiste and it seems my simplicity is failing to match the super being society expects me to be. Truth is handigoni zvese.”
Defending her dungaree and bright boots which made her seem like she was trying too hard to fit into the Zimdancehall scene, Fungisai said the ZiFM Stereo appearance was a spur of the moment. “Saturday afternoon, I was dressed down in my home gear for an indoor recording session with my kid before we were suddenly interrupted and ended up accompanying the producer to his ZiFM interview.
“When I got there, everyone was excited to see their chart topping artiste and I thought it’d be inappropriate for me to turn the DJs down on photo shoots,” posted Fungisai.
She added: “But before I knew it, I was being attacked for being a simple girl that my mom gave birth to.”