Back in the day, before internet-based audio and video streaming platforms such as YouTube, Spotify and social media became a thing, it took quite an effort for African musicians to breakthrough on the international scene and be recognised at the global stage.

Growing up, names like Angelique Kidjo, Fela Kuti, Youssou N'Dour, Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela and many others, were echoed across the world and their music played on global networks.

Their music transcended melodies, beats, vocals and their art carried messages. Some still live, others have passed on but it’s the legacy they built that keeps them alive.

Among those iconic names is Khadja Nin, the girl from Burundi, who went and conquered the world with her powerful and emotive music, which stayed true to traditional African roots.

Her story shows that in art, you do not have to change your identity to fit in. For Khadja Nin, it paid off tremendously.

If you met her today, her humility and down-to-earth persona would never let you imagine that she belongs to the top cream list of legendary African musicians.

Khadja Nin was recently in Rwanda to curate the upcoming first edition of the Kigali Triennial, an initiative that seeks to stimulate the development of the Rwandan creative and cultural industry, bringing investors, producers and broadcasters from the global market to Rwanda. She was paired with Hervé Twahirwa in the music domain to allow exploration across various creative realms.

She will be part of the 10-day activity, starting from February 16 to 25, with a mission to sell and export the productions of local artists, attract investors in the field of ICC in Rwanda, create an event that attracts cultural tourists to Rwanda.

Through the progamme, Khadja Nin will be working with different curators to identify and find ways of supporting Rwanda’s blossoming arts sector to create more jobs and opportunities for young people.

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In an interview with The New Times, Khadja Nin delves into her music journey, which started at a young age, making her crisscross the world as she chalked her name on the list of Africa’s music icons.

A life changing journey

Born in Burundi on June 27, 1959, the singer and songwriter says music represents who she is because it defined the course of her life, and still does today.

"I can say that music changed the course of my life considering that at the age of 22, I was an orphan, a widow, a mother of a three-year-old little boy, alone and far from home,” she says as she begins narrating her journey.

Like most artistes, Khadja Nin says she started singing in a choir back home in the famous Cathédrale Regina Mundi in Bujumbura, but it never crossed her mind, even once, that she would make music her profession.

"It was not even a dream. It was so far away because at that time, in the 70s, becoming an artiste was unthinkable. No promoters, no studio and no structure to learn,” she recalls.

Her dream was simply to be a mother and happy family woman. Venturing into music for her was purely by chance after she met renowned Belgian musician, producer and composer Nicolas Fiszman, in 1985.

Slowly, they started working together, introducing her to music when she was a young woman focused on her busy life, rather than music.

"I met my husband when I was 17 years old. I married at 18 and had my son at 19,” she says. The duo met in what was then Zaire, now Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and relocated to Europe.

Unfortunately, two years later, her husband passed on and here she was in Europe on her own.

"I didn't know anything about Europe. I was young and I stayed there,” she recalls with a chuckle, saying how she had to work 70-hours a week and 365-days-a year to make ends meet.

Struggling through adversity

"When you are poor, you do everything. You have two to three jobs plus a little boy to take care of,” Khadja Nin says, pointing out that at the time music was not even in her wildest dreams.

After meeting Fiszman, they started to write songs together and for her, automatically it came in Swahili, a language she felt comfortable with. Many people would ask her why she doesn’t write and sing in French.

Much as she knew the language very well, she did not feel comfortable writing and singing in French and did not think it would make it easier as it was being suggested. She was not going to do it to please others.

"I speak French very well, but it's not my language. I felt that I could not put all my feelings, all my wishes in that language, even if I speak it very well. I don’t do music to please someone. I do music as it comes, if it doesn't work, there is no problem,”

"Maybe it will work because it's sincere. It is the way I do it,” she says, adding that together with Fiszman they wrote about 13 songs, which they submitted to BMG, a major production house in Belgium and it marked a major turning point.

"We gave them our work and they got crazy,” she says, adding that at this point her goal was to simply survive the difficult situation she was going through, taking on different jobs.

"One job was not enough. I was too young, I had no special skills, so I had to do more than one job to make it happen,” the age-defying singer says.

Her first breakthrough hit which made her popular was ‘Wale Watu’, released in 1992 but it was her most popular song ‘Sambolera mayi son’, off her 1996 album, that really took her to the world.

‘Wale Watu’ received very good airplay on the African continent and ‘Sambolera’ cemented her place.

It is a song she still speaks about fondly even today. She explains that ‘Samborera’ is a name of a little boy somewhere in the world, who grows into a powerful man, who does things which sometimes go against the selfish and cruel wishes of society, to be whatever they want to be.

It is a story of resilience amidst diversity. The past doesn’t matter but the future. She breaks the interview to sing a small part of the song, reminiscing as though it was yesterday.

"Music is the best way to live and I tell you if it works well, it's the best place to live because it brings you to places that you never thought you would reach in your life,” Khadja Nin recalls.

Conquering the world

One of her favourite unforgettable moments is when she wrote a song for Nelson Mandela, when he was still in jail and later when he was released, she got an opportunity to perform the song before him in South Africa.

"I got the chance to sing that song right in front of him and then when I went backstage, I was with Michael Jackson at the same time. This is something unforgettable because it will never happen again,” she says, reminiscing the surreal moment.

She did music at this level for 10 years and stopped to enjoy the life she missed while working her way out of the hard times. It was at the time in the late 90’s when music was evolving, with boy bands and R&B taking over.

She no longer felt that was where she wanted to be. Music was becoming more commercial than art. It is a universe she felt she did not belong to anymore, regardless of the success she had registered.

Khadja Nin wanted to live an independent easy life, not held by a record label, be on the road with her husband, cook and sleep in the car and try to live life, traversing the world. It was a deliberate move and she still lives by that.

Playing her part

Besides that, she dedicates part of her time to causes that are impactful to society, like the forthcoming Kigali Triennial, which she is part of as a curator. When she was approached by the organisers, she felt it would be a good platform to make her contribution to the development of art.

To be part of this event which will bring together over 150 artists from 30 countries in Africa, Europe and Asia and over 200 presenters from several countries and institutions among.

Participating organisations will include the Avignon Festival, the Lincoln Center, Columbia University, National Theater of Belgium, Theater of the city of Paris, the Théatre national de Chaillot, Humboldt Forum-Berlin.

It will also attract Africologne-Germany, Univeral Music, Empire, YouTube, Spotify as well as several media: TV5, France 24, RTBF, le Soir, Le Point, New York Times, Forbes Africa, le Monde, La Croix, Les Échos, BBC, VOA and RFI, among others.

For Khadja Nin, it is a privilege to be part of this initiative because this is one way she can contribute to the development of art. She believes Rwanda has artists who can conquer the world, but what they need is a platform.

She will be looking to discover artists who have what it takes to jump on any big stage in the world and tap into the multibillion industry that music is, one step at a time.

"Music industry is a real industry everywhere in the world. I am talking about billions, and of course if you look at what Nigerians have done,” she says, citing Nigerian artists and film stars who even fly private jets, thanks to the market they’ve created for themselves.

She says this is possible in Rwanda and everywhere else where the industry feels stagnated, by simply doing the right things and connecting with the right people.

She recognises Rwanda’s efforts to prioritise music and arts through initiatives such as Rwanda Music School and Nyundo School of Art and putting in place the right policies, much as there is still more ground to be covered.

Through initiatives such as Kigali Triennial, Rwandan and African artists can tap into the global market and collaborate with other creatives in Europe, the U.S and elsewhere. There is so much potential.

She says that if African artistes can collaborate, they stand a chance to transcend their national boundaries. Her dream is to see Rwandan artistes going to perform in Nigeria and Zimbabwean artistes coming to perform in Rwanda and vice versa.

That is her own way to give back. She recognises the chance she was given which opened doors for her and reckons that she could also do the same and open doors for the young generation of artistes.

"I had a chance but I didn't have a chance before, I should say, but when I started singing, all the doors were opened, which is not usual,” she observes.

Advice to young artistes

To conquer the world stage, Khadja Nin advises up-and-coming artistes to embrace originality and stay true to themselves in their artistic pursuits.

As a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Khadja Nin has demonstrated a dedication to humanitarian causes and maintains a strong sense of conviction and a desire to make a difference in the world.

A collaborative platform

According to Dorcy Rugamba, the Artistic Director of the Kigali Triennial, there will be 7 forums dedicated to ICC, Masterclass and training, cooperation agreements in the music industry and signing of contracts between Rwandan artists and international key actors in the art business.

The Kigali Triennial will also feature the arts market, which will be held at the former Camp Kigali starting on February 16, in partnership with the Supreme Remains project.

A multitude of presenters from abroad, including producers, directors of theatres, festivals, film producers and investors, among others, are expected in Kigali to oversee productions in all disciplines.

Other venues will include the Kigali Car Free zones, Cinemas, including C Horizon, Mayaka and Century Cinema while others will take place at the School of Architecture, Kandt House, Hotel Mico, Marriott Hotel and BK Arena.

Upcountry, events will take place at Ikinyugunyugu-Musanze-twin lakes, Paradise Island and by the shores of Lake Kivu in Rubavu district.