In the late 1990s, this song ruled the airwaves in Rwanda and the entire Great Lakes region. And even though it was sung in Kirundi, many mistook it for a Kinyarwanda song. Amaso Akunda (Lovely Eyes) was not only loved for its heartfelt lyrics but also its blend of lover’s rock and reggae music styles. And the composer seemed to write straight from his heart. Amaso Akunda, which was also the title of Jean-Christophe Matata’s best-selling album to date, captured people’s hearts as everyone seemed to concur with the composer. Matata sung: Loving eyes are definitely blind eyes / When a person is in love, he can’t see his lover’s mistakes / His eyes only see the good / Even when people around him tell him about his lover’s mistakes, he chooses to ignore. Others fell in love with the melody of the song. Unfortunately, Matata, a Burundian Zouk artiste, died on January 3 last year. He was 50.