Last Friday Jay Polly and Amag The Black launched their 11-song album. However, the highly anticipated Ubuzima Bwanjye album launch at Petit Stade in Remera was poorly attended.

Many were left wondering what could have caused the flop. The venue which has the capacity to sit 3,000 people, hosted only a handful of concertgoers.

The rappers are popular and have a big fan base. So what exactly went wrong? Critics say the rappers suffered the consequences of not having a management team, which would organise the event in a professional manner. 

It was one of the worst organised shows in the history of this country as it started so late, the sound was pathetic that people struggled to hear. This was made worse by the poor lighting system. 

Even most of the artistes who were lined up to perform at the concert didn’t show up. These included Urban Boyz, Riderman, Bruce Melody, King James, Charly & Nina, DJ Pius, Christopher, Mani Martin, Active, Buravan, Theogene Uwiringiyimana, Uncle Austin, Oda Paccy, and Tuff Gang.

And the few artistes who turned up, left without performing. It should also be noted that the album was launched after the two artistes had parted ways with their manager, Bosco Nkurikiyinka. 

One thing our local artistes ought to understand is that, music, just like any other business, needs professional management.

"You can’t organise a big show in just a month; it’s something that takes at least six months ahead of the show. This is also done with a strong management team, not an artiste alone,” Nkurikiyinka says.

He notes that all artistes need to have managers given the fact that some of them do not understand what they are doing when it comes to the business side of it.

Martin Maniraruta, also known as Mani Martin, says that every artiste should have a professional management team because there are a lot of things that an artiste cannot do alone.

"This is something we need to improve in Rwanda, if we are to grow our music. A manager does a lot, discusses the contracts, and looks for jobs and markets the artiste. The media should also be used to make people (stakeholders) understand the role of managers,” he says.

Sabin Murungi, a local showbiz journalist, notes that the reason why most local artistes don’t succeed in this industry is because they have not understood the value of having a manager.

"Having a professional manager is the only key to success for any musician. A manager is the one who negotiates for the artiste and seals the deals with sponsors or negotiates with other international artistes for collaborations,” Murungi notes.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw