2018-03-16Staff Report 2 Jeremiah Ndjoze Windhoek-It took a bit of tragedy…or let’s just say – a serious scare, for rhythm and blues crooner, Ricardo Shaningua, to realise that he is still relevant and hot property on the local music seen. The artist, who is popularly known as Ricardo was recently admitted to an Ongwediva private hospital for salivary glands operation, which the doctors initially thought was cancerous. According to online sources, salivary stones, or sialoliths are the most common cause of swollen salivary glands. However, fans who saw pictures that Ricardo posted on social media expressed their dismay at the situation in countless melodramatic ways, with some going as far as claiming that he was shot. But the musician, who is now recovering at home, in Oshakati, maintains this backlash may have emanated from his post which said, ‘Four shots couldn’t stop me…I took it and smile’ an extract from Tupac’s song, Hit em up. “I was actually referring to the fact that my operation went through four stages,” he says recalling the ‘painful and lengthy’ process. He also recounts the stressful period when doctors signalled red flags that he could be having cancer. “No man, fear is not even the word to describe my feeling at that time. I immediately started worrying about the welfare of my wife and kids because at that point as a father you don’t thing about heaven or hell. You only think of what will happen to your loved ones,” he maintains. Needless to say, he was relieved to hear that it was nothing more than a false alarm. Now the chubby hubby and doting father of two is more than determined to bring the love back onto local stages – and to, of course, serenade ‘your wife.’ No stranger to serenading wives, the soulful singer has been doing just that at weddings and matrimonial anniversaries after disappearance from the recording artist arena about ten years ago. It is the only thing he could do, musically at the time, because he wanted to devote more time to ‘the madam, the kids, and work.’ Ricardo is employed as a customer care consultant at a commercial bank in his northern adopted hometown of Oshakati. He originally hails from Namibia’s garden town of Okahandja. On the upcoming album christened, FreeCardo, the artist says he will deliver a carefully selected blend of HipHop-RnB laced with African grooves. The album, he says, is done and awaiting his recovery to the studio where he will lay the finishing touches such as mixing and mastering. “I’m just grateful for my fans for having waited this long and I promise to bring them nothing short of the best,” he concludes. Ricardo was the winner of the first and only ‘Cell One Road to Fame’ talent search road show. 2018-03-16Staff Report 2
