For a man whose musical journey dates back to the early 1970s, a time by which majority of the current crop of musicians were not yet born, it is understandable that his latest musical collaboration with a host of new generation local artistes is creating waves around town, writes Moses Opobo.

I first met legendary live singer Abdul Makanyaga at the launch of the third edition of the KigaliUp Music Festival at the Amahoro Stadium in July. Clad in a flowing, sky blue African garment complete with head gear, he cut a rather regal figure. 

As the cast of international performers took turns to speak, in English, a smile occasionally beamed from his face, as though out of courtesy, but he hardly spoke. When it was his turn to introduce himself, he opened by announcing that he only spoke Kinyarwanda, French and Swahili. 

It therefore came as a surprise that the foreign musicians at the festival, including the headline act, Malian Habib Koite would take turns to heap praise on Makanyaga – or at least his music. Away from the festival, the veteran guitarist has also been making a modest appearance in the world of billboard advertising, being the guy that appears in those Banque Populaire billboards dotted across the country, beaming and happily plucking away at his guitar. 

More surprisingly, even shockingly, he seems to be working at bridging the generation gap that currently dogs his music – rooted deeply in the 1970s. For a man whose musical journey dates back to the early 1970s, a time by which majority of the current crop of musicians were not yet born, it is understandable that his latest musical collaboration with a host of new generation local artistes is creating waves around town. 

The song in question is titled Rubanda, and on it he features alongside Knowless Butera, Tom Close, Dream Boyz, and Christopher. Two things in particular make this song – or at least Makanyaga’s appearance in it note worthy; Not only is it Makanyaga’s first ever appearance in a music video, it is also his first musical effort with young, contemporary artistes, for a man who is well-known for his dedication to Igisope (authentic Rwandan country music). 

When I called him for this interview, he immediately warmed up to the idea, but warned me that he would not be making it to town to meet me as he was not in good physical shape. Instead, he suggested I join him at his home, in Gikondo. 

The climb to Makanyaga’s modest retirement home is so steep that my guide had to be gripped tightly at the wrist by one of his sons who came to pick us up from our cab. The home sits on such a steep, isolated hill that we had to negotiate with the cab driver to wait for us as there would be no other public means available. 

It is a modest but comfortable abode which he shares with his wife, Tatu Mukamunana, and a sprinkling of his sons, two of who have taken after their father in music. One of them is Badru Tuyisenge, and the other Hamdani Fataki Makanyaga. The third, Shinani Makanyaga, is a solo musician based in Australia. In all, he has seven children. 

I ask him if he influenced his sons into music, and his answer, in the affirmative, is surprisingly blunt: "I encouraged them to take up music because music is soap to the soul.” 

When we arrived for the interview, we found Makanyaga conducting a guitar session with a group of young men in his living room. He revealed later that they were musical apprentices learning guitar skills from him: "It cost me so much to learn to play the guitar because during our time, they were very rare even just to see,” he remembers with a tinge of satisfaction. 

Occasionally during the interview, he took up the guitar to play some of his classics, which include; Garuka Suzana, Gikundiro, Nagera Muri Bar, and, of course, Rubanda. 

Makanyaga is the kind of musician who will freely confess to you that he does not keep CDs of his music or store it on any device. When invited to a gig, he simply picks his guitar and drum set, and belts out all his tunes live.

Talking of gigs, he further reveals that he no longer performs at public concerts, but rather at private events like anniversaries, weddings and birthdays. A few entertainment spots have tried to engage the singer, but many are discouraged by one of the conditions he gives; that he can only perform up to 11:00 pm. "I am 65 years old now, and I’m not growing any younger,” he retorts in self-defense. 

Rubanda is actually a folk tune of Makanyaga’s that dates to way back. It is unbelievable to think that he would want to have his song "diluted” by featuring musicians young enough to be his grandchildren on it.

His view about the new generation artistes is surprisingly positive for a man whose art is rooted in authentic country tastes. About why today’s young musicians are more prone to borrowing and incorporating western influences into their music, he reasons that "you can’t walk before you start to crawl. Before you become good at something, you first imitate from the masters, but eventually you create something of your own.”

And what is his take on the just-concluded Primus Guma Guma Super Star music talent search competition that drew to a close last weekend? He says: "I don’t have anything to do with Guma Guma because of two things; my religion and my age.”

Debilitating accident

Unknown to his fans, many of who continue to enjoy his live gigs at private events, Makanyaga is a man in pain. On the morning of April 22, 2013, at 9:00 am, the singer was involved in a freak accident as he rode on a taxi moto from Polyclinic in downtown Kigali, where he had gone for medical check-up after suffering from acute fatigue. At the time, he was employed at the American Embassy in Kigali as a welder. 

"We were riding safely on a taxi moto but when we reached the Mille Collines Hotel junction, a speeding moto rammed into us and I fell unconscious. When I regained my senses, I found myself lying in a hospital bed,” he narrates. Luckily, some kind people rushed him to Kigali Central Hospital, where he was quickly attended to. 

Though he had managed to recover well from the injuries, recently the singer tumbled and fell after a performance, severely hurting his pelvic bone. These days, he has to tie a gutter around his waist to curb the pain. He also walks around using a crutch, with the pain in his limp quite obvious. 

Aging gracefully

On a more positive note, Makanyaga has refused to succumb to the one cancer that usually dogs senior citizens –that of an uncertain future. He keeps three healthy cows for his home supply of milk, and a walk around the compound reveals building works here and there. 

Presently, he is in the final stages of opening a metal fabrication workshop in Gikondo, where he hopes to carry on with his other vocational calling. He hopes to tailor it around the principles of a cooperative, as he will give priority to fellow musicians with technical and vocational skills. 

After recently upgrading his music equipment to a full band set, Makanyaga sounds rather confident when he says: "I will play mostly a supervisory role at the workshop so that I have time for the music.”