There is no doubt that Diana Teta is one of the top female singers in the country, yet at just 23 years, the ‘Velo’ singer still has time to conquer the country and the world.

Her passion for music started when she was still a young child, "I started singing when I was a kid I wrote my first song at the age of eleven but then it was later that I joined serious music that was in 2012, that’s when I got a chance to step in studio,” Teta says.

She recounts a competition she took part in 2012, it was for all high schools in Kigali and she finished in second position and won a prize to record a song in a studio. That is when she recorded her first song called dance tonight.

It was from that point that things took a turn for her and she started making a few connections.

"I knew one producer and through him I got to meet other artists, he always told them how great I could sing and people started looking for me, that’s how I got to know Uncle Austin and we did a song together called Nzapfa Ejo.”

The fact that big producers had hope in her gave her a lot of strength to push her talent to the next level.

"Producer Jay P was really hard to get hold of back then because he was the top producer and he mostly did music for big artists but surprisingly he was interested in my voice and he did this song for me called bad man’s love, it was a good song but my promotion skills were still small, that’s why it didn’t do that well but it was a huge step for me,” she says.

Her next move was taking part in the famous Tusker Project Fame, Teta was one of the four contestants that were selected to represent Rwanda in the auditions though didn’t get through to the finals but her experience there added a tad to her career.

She says the experience of performing for a huge crowd provided her with the exposure she needed to boost her confidence and access to a whole new platform; it came out as an added bonus seeing that it was her first time she had ever performed for such a big audience.

"Fata Fata” the hit

Every artist has that moment they refer to as their turning point, that astounding moment where things turn for the better and for this particular songstress, it was the song Fata Fata that made it for her. It hit the airwaves with a bang and everyone wanted to know who Teta was and what it is that she was or could do, this was in 2013.

"When I recorded Fata Fata it turned out so great people loved it especially my chorus, so it opened doors for me.”

Before fata fata I had a song called ‘call me and Undi munsi ‘that were produced by Uganda’s Washington but all of them started playing on air waves after doing Fata fata because people wanted to know the other songs I had done,” she recounts.

Since then it has been incredible moment after the other for her, there have been invitations to perform for Rwanda Day three times, various performances here in Rwanda and in Europe too.

"I do shows here and in Europe, not just Rwanda day but I also do my own shows. I did two shows in different cities of Belgium and they were very successful,”

"I actually realised I had so many fans in the Diaspora because they are the ones who suggest which artists goes to Rwanda day to perform. If they heard me twice and they are still inviting me it means they are satisfied with what I give and I truly appreciate their support.”

Other songs she has done include Canga Ikarita, Uwanjye, Ndaje among others and her latest is Velo which has been a frequent play on the airwaves.

Message behind "Velo”

It’s been a few years onto the music scene but the youthful Teta can not only sing but also does compose her songs.

"It’s me who composed the song Velo, I created the melody and everything, what the producer did was getting the beat, and this is what I do for all my songs.”

She explains that, Velo is the word love spelt backwards because I was singing about today’s love which is upside down. Some girls are after material things other than love, they value earthly possessions more.

"It’s this kind of love that gives an explanation for all these divorces we are facing now days because some people get married for the wrong reasons.”

"Velo’s video was done but I had kept it because I wanted to release it on the 1st of January 2016 as a new year’s gift to my fans and people supporting Rwandan music in general.”

Without a manger or a label to her name, Teta has managed to penetrate deeper into the music industry despite it being a thorny journey. 

"It hasn’t been easy but of course it’s always a hustle, though a point reaches and you forget the hard times because if you love what you do and are really passionate about it, you hold on to it.”

"I only know one thing that hasn’t been easy on me which is the media writing negative stuff which isn’t even true. It can sell for those who write but what does it make me, for God’s sake we are artists and I believe we represent the country in so many ways so if you sell a bad image which is most of time not even true, I don’t see your participation in the country’s development,” she says.

Despite her being in the industry for a few years, Teta has managed to achieve a lot from her young talent.

"At the beginning of this year I received an award in Sweden, there was an African day and I went to represent Rwanda, I was awarded for a song called Ndaje, recently I also got an award from the first lady an award for young Rwandan achievers.”

Lauren Hill, Kamariza, Bob Marley, Nina Simone, Whitney Houston are some of the musicians that have set her inspiration. "Their music was all in the message and for them it was more of something they wanted to share with the whole world that’s why they inspire me.”

About the music industry in Rwanda

She says the industry is clearly developing because before very few people listened to Rwandan music and this is changing.

"The only people whose music was heard was of people like Kamariza because of the condition they sang in, people had to listen. 

If Kamariza sang ‘Humura Rwanda’ people had to listen because of the state the country was in, music then was more of patriotic, but after when it turned to entertainment it wasn’t easy to convince people. Things have however taken a turn and there is a huge difference.”

Her plans for the New Year

She says 2015 was an epic year for her and hopes that 2016 goes on well for her as she is hoping to do collaborations around East Africa.

"This year I have to go bigger, I have started the year with Velo’s video. I have so many other projects, new songs, new videos, I am working on an album and from now on I am planning to do a song and release a video immediately.”

Message for fans

"I have always said that it took more than one man to make the Rihanna, Michael Jackson or Beyoncé that we know. I think if we keep the spirit of the Rwandan people believing in us and supporting our music, we then can go to the next level but it has to start from here. No one will value our music before we do and I think we really do have artists that have potential.”

"My fans have done all of this and I believe they can even do more, they can lift me up and make me even bigger because that’s my target and I can’t do it on my own.”

editorial@newtimes.co.rw