Dramaboi’s mother says her son succumbed to HIV

  • Reveals what the name Dramaboi meant to him 
  • Says she forgives her Facebook detractors

GAZETTE REPORTER

After much speculation about what could have caused the death of rapper Thuto Ramphaleng, better known as Dramaboi, his mother has disclosed that the singer died from Neurosyphilis, which is an opportunist infection on HIV patients.
Because Dramaboi’s mother, Boitumelo Ramphaleng, was excoriated on social media for allegedly driving her singer son to depression, she felt compelled to set the record straight at the artist’s memorial service held at Molapo Piazza on Monday this week. “Dramaboi had not been well for two years,” Ramphaleng said.
“As a mother, you can always tell when your child is not well. I confronted him a couple of times about his health but he denied (that he was ailing). He continued to display his tough persona. The doctors told me about his state and his clinic cards indicated that the disease that was detected was what took his life.”
But even this has proved controversial. While many people felt it was right for her to reveal the cause of her son’s death, many others said it was personal information that should never have been disclosed, especially that Dramaboi did not disclose it when he was in life. The detractors took to social media to express their disapproval, saying Dramaboi’s mother had hurt other people connected to her son even more.
That aside, Ramphaleng said her Dramaboi was a soft-spoken lad who had loved music since he was 9 years old, singing along to Eminem’s rapping. The grieving mother added that though departed from the terrestrial plane, her son would forever live in her heart.
“Born 28 years ago, I gave him his name, Thuto, and he named himself Dramaboi,” she said. “When I asked him why he came up with the name and what it meant, he said it spoke to the drama that happened to me, his mother Boi. Growing up I could see he had something special in him.”
“He spoke so much about his grandmother and people assumed I was not there. But I was there. To all the people who have been dragging me on social media, I forgive you, and may God bless you.”
Dramaboi was laid to rest yesterday (Tuesday) at the Ramphaleng home at Makakatlela in Mochudi.