Just like a heatwave that affects a nation for only a short period before fading away, the four artists who were signed under Tinashe Mutarisi's Nash Paints record label appear to have experienced a similar fate.
When businessman Tinashe Mutarisi announced the closure of Nash Paints' music promotion division on December 9, 2025, citing personal challenges, relevance doubt emerged over the future of the artists who had been signed under the label.
The phrase "Ziva Tinashe ndo Mutarisi", which once dominated the streets and social media conversations, has now disappeared as though it never existed.
After Nash Paints announced its withdrawal from music promotion, the four artists signed under the label — Saintfloew, Nisha Ts, Ninety Six and Raymer — seem to have lost much of the relevance they once enjoyed in the music industry. Among them, only Nisha Ts still appears regularly on major show posters, with his music and connections seemingly working in his favour.
Some music lovers who claim that Holy Ten is the "father of hip-hop", as the rapper often refers to himself, may feel justified in their belief.
Saintfloew, whose rise to fame was further boosted by Tinashe Mutarisi to the extent of collaborating with South African rapper Kwesta on "Bag Sera Jah Man", has struggled to maintain the same momentum since leaving Nash Paints.
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Although he continues to perform at various events, he is now doing shows at lower rates compared to what he commanded during his time under the Nash Paints stable. With Zimbabwean hip-hop appeared quiet for months until Holy Ten's "Risky Life 3" reignited excitement among fans.
As for Ninety Six, his relevance seems to be largely confined to TikTok, where he frequently goes live. In the mainstream music industry, it appears that the closure of Nash Paints also took away much of his influence.
Raymer was perhaps the earliest casualty of the label's shutdown. Just two months after signing with Nash Paints and beginning to enjoy the rewards of being a professional musician, everything seemed to fall apart, and many fans appear to have forgotten about him.
Since then, only Nisha Ts has shown signs of maintaining his relevance. Her songs "Ndiwe Here" and "Musazonditsiure", released after her departure from the label, have managed to make some impact, although they have not matched the success he enjoyed while under Mutarisi.
With only six months remaining before the end of the year, all four artists have continued releasing music consistently. However, their momentum appears to be fading.
Saintfloew, who used to accumulate over 500,000 views within two days of releasing a song, managed only 78,000 views in 10 days for his recent release, "Gucci and Dior Felt".
The closure of Nash Paints' music promotion division has had a significant impact on the careers of the four artists, with only Nisha Ts showing signs of maintaining his presence in the industry. Whether they can regain their former popularity remains to be seen.
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