Like other spheres, the music industry in Rwanda is still growing, becoming better year after year; thanks mostly to the growth of technology and marketing tools like social media.

However, when you look back at the state of the Rwandan music industry ten years ago as compared to today’s, the first thing that comes to mind is the way artistes were doing music with so much love and passion.

For them, much of their pride depended on how much their song was appreciated by their audience than today where it’s all about how much they can make out of it.

They would spend days and nights in studios working hard to earn their fans’ adoration through platforms like the now ‘limping’ Salax Awards.  

So what changed?

Things in the Rwandan music industry begun to change in 2011 when the Primus Guma Guma Superstar (PGGSS) competition was introduced.

The Bralirwa-sponsored competition will go down in local history as arguably one of the biggest music contests the country has ever had.

It provided a great opportunity for local stars to showcase their talent countrywide by shining a spotlight on them, giving them a great platform to be used as a springboard to greater heights.

Thomas Muyombo, commonly known as Tom Close was the first to realize the dream of becoming the winner of the Rwf24m cash prize when he won the first edition of the competition eight years ago.

Tom Close.

In the following years after that, the likes of King James, Riderman, Jay Polly, Butera Knowless, Urban Boys and Dream Boys respectively won the competition.

When Bruce Melodie won last year, the brewery announced that it was postponing the competition until further notice.

Knowless Butera.

The competition may have been postponed but the memories it left music fans won’t be erased from their mind anytime soon.

Since its inception in 2011, Primus Guma Guma Superstar played a big impact on the development of Rwanda’s music industry.

King James.

Prior to the music competition, artistes would work day and night dropping hit after hit to convince both music fans and organizers to give them a chance to perform.

But are they still ‘Super Stars’?

While most of the winners of this competition are still doing music, some have gone off the entertainment radar.

Fans have mixed feelings about their reactions to whether the PGGSS competition was a curse or a blessing to the winners.

Nancy Mutesi is a music fan. She says that there are times that she wondered whether the winners’ cash prize came with bad luck.

"I don’t know if we will ever have the Jay Polly we used to see five years ago back. I spent the whole night celebrating when he won Guma Guma. Why not?  He is the one who made me love Hip Hop, but I was later disappointed in who he became,” she says.

Urban Boys have since broken up after winning the Primus Guma Guma with Safi Madiba pursuing a solo career.

Mutesi revealed that she, and her colleagues, have failed to understand why most of the Guma Guma superstars have slowed down their music production since winning the competition.

"A prize should normally be motivation to the winner to do even better but our artistes have done the opposite. If you ask me, I would say most of them are no longer superstars but ordinary artistes. I don’t want to mention their names, but each of them should evaluate themselves and ensure their fans are happy,” she said.

Lucky Nzeyimana, a showbiz journalist at Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA) says that while some of the PGGSS winners have built a legacy in music and always fight to avoid having their ‘superstar’ status go to waste, calling the majority of them (superstars) would be a lie.   "I would be exaggerating if I said the PGGSS winners are still superstars. If you brought back the competition, the majority of the past winners would be surprisingly overshadowed by rising stars in this industry, not because those who won the competition do not do good music but because music evolves over time,” he said.

TV personality Luckman Nzeyimana has covered the Bralirwa-sponsored music competition but thinks not all previous winners are still superstars.

In Nzeyimana’s opinion, some of the Guma Guma winners are obviously still superstars given the efforts they continued to put in doing their music while others have faded away because of laziness, lack of commitment and focus.

Three of the eight successful superstars at the Primus Guma Guma Superstar competition are under Kina Music record label’s management. They include Tom Close and Knowless Butera, the lone female winner of the competition and Dream Boys.

People may be unhappy with some artists’ work after winning the PGGSS competition, but Kina Music CEO, Clement Ishimwe, says that his artistes are still churning out good music.

"We haven’t heard or received criticism in that regard from our audience, they are enjoying our music and we thank them for their endless support,” he said.

Producer Clement Ishimwe, manages the biggest number of former PGGSS winners, at his music label, Kina Music.

Ishimwe insists his artists are superstars on merit because the work they have been doing speaks for itself.

"Apart from Bruce Melody, my artistes are the ones with the biggest number of albums. They are very consistent. Their YouTube channels before and after winning will tell you how much work they put in. As I said, the amount of work, the quality, and the income have increased; at least for Kina music’s artistes. I obviously can’t speak for others,” he explained.

Lion Imanzi has been a member of the jury at the Primus Guma Guma Superstar, and sometimes the music competition’s MC.

Lion Imanzi, who was part of a panel of judges for a number editions of the competition says that some of the winners have lost the ‘superstar’ status. 

"I am not going to comment on specific individuals but some of them are stars and others aren’t. Those who kept up and continued to build their careers are still living up to their Superstar status. Some stayed relevant by producing a steady stream of hits after winning but those who didn’t do that suffered the consequences of that absence,” he explained.

Imanzi suggests both statuses can co-exist in that ecosystem provided that they stay musically relevant by putting in the work and staying in the spotlight by producing the kind of hits their fans expect.

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WHAT THEY SAY

All I can say is that things change according over time because the way we release songs has changed and the marketing strategy for our music is different from that of the past years but we keep doing music even after Guma Guma and our songs became hits and we will keep doing music.  

Jean-Claude Mujyanama aka TMC, (Dream-- Boys 2017 Winners)

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The claims that artistes become complacent after winning the Guma Guma competition have some truth but People should keep in mind that music grows. Yes, some PGGSS winners have not done so well since winning the competition but there are examples of others who kept doing music at the top level. 

Bruce Melodie (2018 winner)

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For me, the music I was doing in 2015 is different from the kind of music I am doing at the moment. Its standards have also changed and that pushed me to win regional awards like Hipipo Awards which are bigger than the Guma Guma competition. The incomes from my music, too, have incredibly grown.

But, musically, I can say that I am meeting my fans’ expectations and I try to do what my fans want from me. You can’t satisfy people’s demand at 100 per cent, but so far so good.

Knowless Butera (2015 winner)

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When fans start missing you for one or two months, a lot of reactions arise and that is the life we, artists, normally live.

To be honest, our objectives have never changed since we won the Guma Guma but, as we continue the rebuilding process of Urban Boys, we hope things will soon get better.

Humble Jizzo (Urban Boys 2016 winners)

editor@newtimesrwanda.com