Johannesburg - Afrikaans rapper Jack Parow is still finding it difficult to understand the events that have unfolded over the past few days.
Just a week ago, the award-winning musician was planning to join mumble rapper Angie Oeh for a show in Pretoria.
Now, instead, he’s had to mentally prepare to say his final goodbyes after she lost her battle with lung cancer on Sunday.
“We spoke exactly one week before she passed away,” Parow told the Saturday Star.
“She was on her way to join me at a show in Pretoria, but messaged me and said she is feeling a little under the weather. We obviously spoke further in the week, but what a shock that one week later she is gone. It still feels surreal.”
Just like Parow, musicians from around the country were left in total disbelief when news broke on Sunday that the Afrikaans rapper had lost her battle with cancer at the tender age of 24.
Greeff was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer on August 14 and died just six days later at the Life Wilgers Hospital in Pretoria.
She had undergone emergency surgery and had commenced with two sessions of chemotherapy before she died.
In 2022, Greeff had a cancerous tumour, measuring 15cm in diameter, removed from her back. She started complaining about pain in her side about two months ago.
However, two weeks ago, Greeff was admitted to hospital after her pain became unbearable.
On Monday, her cancer diagnosis was confirmed and by the weekend she passed away.
In a recent Instagram post, the rapper had expressed that she needed R200 000 for medical expenses and appealed for help.
A BackaBuddy campaign was created and accumulated over R278 000 in donations.
Greeff, whose songs featured top artists, including the likes of Jack Parow, Van Pletzen, Loufi, Biggy and producer, DJ Kay Faith, was laid to rest in Pretoria yesterday.
Parow said he was heartbroken .
“Not only did I lose a friend and a part of my musical family, but also losing someone so young and talented is just so sad. I saw a kindred spirit in her, also pushing the boundaries and standing against what she felt was wrong and up for what she believed in.”
Parow who arrived in Joburg this week to attend the funeral, said he shared a very close relationship with Greeff, musically and personally.
“From the first time I met her, I realised that our thinking and our approach to both music and life were very similar. We started out by making music together, but it quickly grew into a strong and close friendship that I will treasure forever. We spent many nights sharing ideas or just talking about life, she was really wise beyond her years. I will cherish those times forever.”
While Greeff was still fairly new to the industry, having only broken out two years ago, Parow said her death was a massive loss for the music world.
“She was a voice for people who couldn’t speak for themselves. A breath of fresh air in a scene that has in many ways become stale and repetitive. Someone as unique and different as her only comes along once in a generation and the loss for the industry really is incomprehensible.”
As a musician, Parow said Greeff was one of the biggest talents he had come across.
“She was extremely talented. I don’t just make music with anyone and from the first time I saw her on social media and heard her song Dis jou wyfie, I started searching for her and as great minds tend to think alike, she signed with my manager, Wynand Myburgh. I immediately set about meeting her and making music together. And I’m so happy I did as she jumped on my album and absolutely killed it.
“She really was an incredible writer and just approached music and her verses differently and that’s what I like, people who push the boundaries not only in society but in themselves.”
Parow described Greeff as a kind, loving , gentle human being.
“Under her ‘hardcore’ exterior she was the kindest, most loving, beautiful person with time and love for everyone and anyone. She really was a special special soul that made you feel comfortable from the first moment you met her.”
He said the last few days had been incredibly difficult for him as he tried to come to terms with Greeff’s death.
“I was on tour and still had to perform the song we did together. It was part of our set so when it got to that track it brought up all kinds of emotions, but I was happy to be able to dedicate it to her memory and also will continue doing so.”
Parow said the rapper was a brave soul who was ready to take on any battle.
He said after she was diagnosed with lung cancer, she was already planning to return to the studio to make music.
“She really was incredibly brave, even telling Louise Crouse, our publicist, in her last days that she wants to get back to work next week and to set up interviews for her. Literally while she was getting her first round of chemo. What a legend.”
Parow recently dropped a new single with Greeff called Mmeisies and partytjies.
Parow says he feels incredibly privileged to have been able to include Greeff on his album one last time.
Greeff’s music manager Wynand Myburgh, better known as Valkie van Coke, said he was devastated.
“This is the first time in my life that I have dealt with a personal loss like this. I’ve only known Angie for the last two years, but in that short time, it was intense and we were super close. I really saw her as a daughter and I am way more affected by her death than I thought I would be.”
Myburgh shared a special relationship with the rapper after signing her up two years ago.
“Angie and I definitely had a special relationship. When I heard her first big hit, I was touched. I felt like I had been waiting for a while to get involved with a female singer that pushed the boundaries, and when I heard Angie, I was like f**k this, this is it.
“I started chatting to her on a friendship level, giving her guidelines, helping her out wherever I could. Our relationship has always been based on mutual respect for one another. She respected what I had achieved in my career, and I respected her for what she was doing and what she was trying to achieve.
“From a business point of view I quickly realised that Angie was driven, she wanted to work hard, so that was all plus points. These days you struggle to find artists that have an ability to do everything. Angie was that artist. She even produced her own music, she had that skill set, understood social media and building a brand and her work ethic was impeccable. That is very difficult to find in one artist. But Angie had it all.”
Myburgh said he always had huge faith and belief that Greeff would go on to achieve big things in her music career.
“I’m obviously biased and always had a lot of faith and belief in Angie. I always thought and knew she was doing something special, especially in the Afrikaans music scene.
“Aside from Yolandi Visser from Die Antwoord, Angie was the first female hip hop artist from South Africa to kind of come out and not be afraid to sing about the same stuff that the male rappers would sing about. She was pushing boundaries and doing something that no one else was doing and that was kind of a shock to people.
“She definitely had great production skills, and a good ear for melody. It was only the beginning of her music journey. She released 12 songs and a few collaborations.
“I’m not an expert on what makes someone a good rapper, but Angie had her own style. In the local market, no one was doing mumble rap, but obviously it felt like this was the beginning of something really special and really different.”
Myburgh said he saw Angie last Thursday and then visited her on Friday after her second chemotherapy session. During that visit she was already not doing well and the second chemotherapy session really hit her hard and she was struggling with oxygen in her blood.
“She eventually ended up in ICU to get her vitals up so that she could get some oxygen into her blood. She deteriorated and her organs started shutting down. When I saw her on Saturday, which is the last time we spoke, I was encouraging her. But I quickly realised how tough this chemotherapy can be, how tough lung cancer can be. They said day one of chemotherapy is a walk in the park, and day two is going to be hell, and it really was for Angie.”
Myburgh described Greeff as soft-natured and loving.
“When she came out with the face tattoos and the hardcore lyrics, everyone expected her to be kind of hardcore, but in reality she was one of the softest people I knew. In the past 18 months since I have worked with Angie, I saw how people who met her, quickly changed their opinions about her.
“She was caring, loving, feminine and soft. She was a massive introvert, very shy, but at the same time, when she needed to step up and do her thing, she was fearless.”
Myburgh confirmed that Greeff’s latest single See Some, in which she collaborated with DJ Kay Faith would be released soon.