In recent years, Rwanda's music culture has been evolving at a fast pace, and this is more visible today in the country's capital, Kigali, where events celebrating the art of music are increasingly attracting masses of party people.

The country has already hosted a number of major events such as Move Africa headline by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, Giants of Africa Festival and many others, but there is a new wave of partying, especially in Kigali, where people flock to pubs and other public gatherings to enjoy DJ sets that feature different styles of music without necessarily having a headliner or artiste performances.

One of the biggest night events that keeps Kigalians on the dance floor is Strictly Soul, Africa's biggest R&B show, which features only soulful genres such as R&B, soul, neo-soul and trap soul, among others.

The continental music extravaganza has only been held twice in Kigali, organised by Akio Kawahito, a South African DJ, alongside Anita Makgetla, the event's coordinator and host, but it seems to have won the hearts of Rwandans and changed their sense of partying, with many Kigali-based music lovers taking to the internet to call for more Strictly Soul-like events celebrating a specific genre of music.

"Now can we have dancehall only parties. Prettyyy pleaseeee #Kigali," Sonia, owner of Bicu Lounge, recently posted on her X account.

This, among many other factors, shows the impact that Strictly Soul has had on Rwanda&039;s entertainment industry and beyond, but according to Akio, it's just the beginning.

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The genesis of Strictly Soul

During the Covid-19 pandemic, when all entertainment was shut down, DJ Akio didn't give up on his music career, but looked for something that could keep him busy during the lockdown and turn into a real event once the pandemic was over.

At the time, Amapiano was on the rise in South Africa, but Akio wasn't distracted by the new trend, instead creating his own R&B set every Sunday on his rooftop in Johannesburg, which was streamed live on his Instagram page.

"I was like ‘you know what? No one is doing an R&B event’, so every Sunday my boy Bino and I started taking all my DJ equipment to my rooftop and just doing R&B sets as the sun goes down in Johannesburg. That was like the original idea and we called it Strictly Soul,” the DJ told The New Times in an exclusive interview.

As soon as the lockdown ended, Akio found a venue and turned his Sunday R&B live set on his rooftop into a real party, little did he know that it would turn into Africa's biggest R&B party.

The party later took off, reaching almost every major city on the continent and capturing the attention of R&B music lovers across Africa, and Kigali was not left out.

BAL brings Strictly Soul to Kigali

Six months after the event's debut, Anita, the host and coordinator of Strictly Soul, joined the team and helped the event grow as the government allowed entertainment activities in South Africa.

Given how big Johannesburg is in terms of entertainment, Strictly Soul became huge and was exported to Durban, Cape Town, Maseru, Harare, Maputo and many other places until the Basketball Africa League (BAL) put Kigali on the calendar.

"I like basketball and because of the BAL, so many people I know who are involved in basketball have been coming and telling me about Kigali and how there's a lot of interesting things going on,” narrated Akio.

The DJ further got in touch with some Rwandans, including Sonia Iraguha, owner of Bicu Lounge, who helped and convinced him to launch the inaugural Strictly Soul Kigali edition on 9 March, 2024.

"We had our first event in March. And we weren't really sure what to expect. I think our target was 300 people and we had about 700, the response was really good," he said, adding that the first edition helped them understand the market better.

Regarded as the biggest R&B link in Africa, Strictly Soul returned to Kigali last week, this time attracting over 1,500 people to Atelier du Vin, making it arguably the biggest summer party to take place in Rwanda this year.

According to Sandra Mushambokazi, one of the event attendees over the weekend, it was an unforgettable experience that underlines why Rwanda should have more events celebrating soul music.

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As a passionate lover of soul music, Mushambokazi believes that such events are vital in connecting generations, especially millennials and Gen Z.

"Events like Strictly Soul provide a unique and necessary platform to celebrate this dynamic genre. They bring together people of all ages and backgrounds, we can dance to the timeless beats of Marvin Gaye and then seamlessly transition to grooving to Rihanna&039;s latest hits,” Mushambokazi told The New Times.

"It's this blend of old and new that makes soul music so special. It bridges generations and allows us to share experiences, stories and emotions through the universal language of music," she added.

For Divine Irakoze, another Kigalian who attended the event, Strictly Soul should be a wake-up call for local promoters to think outside the box and organise such events that unite generations through music.

However, she believes that it has inspired some people in the entertainment industry, citing other R&B events taking place in the country as proof.

"It is time we started normalizing such events where people connect and just vibe music. I wish we could do the same with hip hop, our own Rwandan oldies, Afrobeats and more. Strictly Soul was a good example that Rwandans want a different style of party and it is not too late,” she noted

According to the organisers, Strictly Soul will be held every two or three months in Rwanda, and that more R&B parties are popping up in Rwanda soon.

Launched in October 2020, Strictly Soul started as an Instagram livestream and has now become Africa's biggest R&B link, reaching some of Africa’s capitals such as Nairobi in Kenya, Dar es Salaam and Arusha in Tanzania, Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg in South Africa, Gaborone in Botswana, Windhoek in Namibia and Kigali in Rwanda, among others.