From the moment the cup is handed to one of them, they all know that the recipient is going to be the hitsong maker of that year.

They never had disagreements among themselves like other categories of artists were fond of doing on social media, and were always cited as role models, until a video of one of their members was leaked. A video in which a pot of burning herbs, maybe incense, was being waved around the head of one of them.

Some members of the public were already suspicious. They noticed how everyone of the artists newly signed to the label shaved their heads completely bald, and grew thick beard. Others said the new ones were just trying to copy the looks of the old experienced artists.

Then came the mysterious deaths. Quick rise to fame, then sudden death. People were speculating, no concrete evidence. So far two female artists were gone. And there were rumours of one prophecy that DJ Vara will be next.

Some said the benevolent acts of the artists were just a mask for the evil sources of their money and reputation.

“When you’re struggling to make it, no one is there for you. But once you make it, people attribute your wealth to all sorts of criminal activities.” the director of the Music and Arts Department told TV1 news during an interview.

But statements like these did little to dissuade the public from their scathing criticisms of music artists.

Some artists replied to hates in their new releases while others simply ignored it, saying they were “just chasing the paper, no time for haters.”

But one member of the Khartell Group seems to give its members away in whatever secrecy in which the source of their fame was shrouded.

He didn’t openly confess to anything. But his demeanor, the things he said in his songs. He sounded like he was going away. Like someone was about to eliminate him for demanding to be let out of something he didn’t want to be part of. He avoided media interviews and appeared to have lost weight. There was this spark in his looks that appears to have been snuffed out, and he was now a shadow of himself.

In his latest music video, he sat on a chair, camera revolving around him, golden cowries woven into his braided her, in an iron shirt and diamond teeth as he sang what looked like an apology to all the people he offended, recounting the things he wished to be remembered for when he’s gone.

The song makes you think, even hours after it stops playing.

If only the human head were a coconut that could be split into two and all of its secrets exposed…