{"id":44529,"date":"2021-08-04T19:35:47","date_gmt":"2021-08-04T17:35:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/?p=44529"},"modified":"2021-08-04T19:27:04","modified_gmt":"2021-08-04T17:27:04","slug":"fame-drove-me-to-drug-abuse-dobba-don","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/fame-drove-me-to-drug-abuse-dobba-don","title":{"rendered":"Fame Drove Me To Drug Abuse \u2013 Dobba Don"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press<\/a> – Zimbabwe<\/a>. <\/strong><\/span>By Paidashe Mandivengerei<\/b> – ZIMDANCEHALL singer Dobba Don, born Brendon Mehlomakhulu, who is recovering from drug abuse says the fame and public attention he got at an early age drove him to a substance abuse lifestyle.<\/p>\n

In 2017, after completing his Ordinary Level, Dobba Don rose to fame with his popular track, Mudendere.<\/p>\n

Earlier last year, a video of him high on drugs surfaced on social media, prompting fans to worry about his health.<\/p>\n

Speaking to a local publication, the award-winning dancehall sensation said during the period sponsors shunned doing business with him as he had become difficult to work with.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat video was real, I got into that situation after I used the drug and I wasn\u2019t myself, I don\u2019t want to lie. I didn\u2019t know what was happening, I even got arrested that day and it was a nightmare. During drugs, I was someone who didn\u2019t want to be told what to do. I lost sponsors who wanted to work with me that time.<\/p>\n

He added that while some artists had been supportive others simply saw it as an opportunity to release diss tracks about him.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter that video, that\u2019s when people knew about my drug life and some were feeling sorry. To my surprise, some artists were dissing me and I didn\u2019t reply since it\u2019s not my staple.<\/p>\n

\u201cI give thanks to the love I got from different people not forgetting Chill Spot Family, Jamal no limits and Oskid just to mention few.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abuse of substances like crystal meth, a highly addictive stimulant referred to as mutoriro in street lingo has become common in high density suburbs like Mufakose where Dobba Don hails from.<\/p>\n

In Zimbabwe, many youths have ventured into substance abuse and the numbers keep spiking as people are laid off their jobs and social lives are altered by the deadly Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

While drug abuse has been said to be a result of the failing economy for Dobba Don it was the fame which he said got to his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat drove me into drugs I would say is fame. I did everything during that when everyone sang along Mudendere. I started doing drugs as experiment not knowing it\u2019s dangerous, just like every young ghetto boy, remember I had fame when I just finished my form four. I started smoking Crystal Meth, Mutoriro, Dombo among other drugs and what really drove me was fame.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore Mudendere, I was smoking herbs and mbanje which is common in the ghetto. It affected me so much because I lost friends and dignity.<\/p>\n

\u201cCareer wise, I lost opportunities since it took so much from me and it\u2019s been long, six years since release of Mudendere,\u201d<\/p>\n

The Zimdancehall chanter said he eventually quit drugs with the help of his mother and counselling sessions and advised youths to quit drugs which he claimed are imported from South Africa.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got out of drugs through prayer thanks to my mother, we had to seek help from pastors and counselling.<\/p>\n

\u201cDrugs never helped me but rather destroyed me. As such, artists who are on drugs need to leave them and focus on what works. I can even mention who are involved but no. Drugs are coming from SA that\u2019s where it all starts,\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. By Paidashe Mandivengerei – ZIMDANCEHALL singer Dobba Don, born Brendon Mehlomakhulu, who is recovering from drug abuse says the fame and public attention he got at an early age drove him to a substance abuse lifestyle. In 2017, after completing his Ordinary Level, Dobba Don rose to fame with his popular track, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":44528,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5,35,15],"tags":[1493,2189,19],"class_list":["post-44529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-culture-and-art","category-homepage-english","category-twitter","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-zimbabwe-2","tag-zimbabwe"],"yoast_head":"\nFame Drove Me To Drug Abuse \u2013 Dobba Don - zimbabwe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Paidashe Mandivengerei - ZIMDANCEHALL singer Dobba Don, born Brendon Mehlomakhulu, who is recovering from drug ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/fame-drove-me-to-drug-abuse-dobba-don\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fame Drove Me To Drug Abuse \u2013 Dobba Don\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Paidashe Mandivengerei - 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