The 70-year-old musician suffered from lung cancer.
He had recently been admitted to a hospital in Nelspruit.
RAY PHIRI. Raymond Chikapa Enock Phiri (born 23 March 1947) is a South African jazz, fusion and mbaqanga musician born in Mpumalanga to Malawian immigrant worker and South African guitarist nicknamed “Just Now” Phiri. He became founding member of the Cannibals in the 1970s.
From the late 70s and much of the 1980s Stimela’s soul-filled,
funk-driven music was a mainstay of music fans across southern Africa, who were inspired as much by the group’s socially conscious lyrical content as its incendiary live performances. Phiri’s unique guitarwork and songwriting brought him to the attention of American musician Paul Simon, who tapped him, along with bassist Bakithi Kumalo and drummer Mtshali, to be the core musicians on what would become Graceland.
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