Impressions: Getting to know a Rwandan artist

Am back with a bang, rambling like never before. Ok let’s face it, surely I didn’t have anything to write about last week and a friend of mine told me to breakdown (not literally though) our Musicians the next time I happen to ramble. Reason, because they seriously need to wake up from the deep slumber they are in and embrace the East African Community. They need to raise their standards if they have to ‘represent’ Rwanda like their Kenyan, Ugandan and Tanzanian counterparts are doing for their respective countries. I said no, don’t be so hard on our boys and girls, they are trying, they are doing their best and hey, you never know, soon they will be rocking the continent. Surely I should have given him a chance to write this week, but I had to think twice or else we would have to see some of our upcoming musicians change careers. Yes the word is ‘upcoming’ for Rwanda, considering how the music industry is thriving in other EAC member states, save for a few who have chosen to keep it traditional, who have not only rocked the continent but the whole world, putting Kinyarwanda music and dance in the limelight. No, we are not talking about those. We are here to see how others genres, say rap/hip hop, RnB, Raggae, Dancehall, name it, are doing in the Land of a thousand hills. Let’s just put it this way, we still have a thousand hills to climb guys! Ok for the ‘wannabe’ rappers (am one of them), I was wondering, do we have to do it the same way Lil’ Wayne, Fat Joe or 50 Cents does his thing? Oh yes, we can wear our jeans and T-shirts just like them and the Bling Bling (If only its real and we can really afford) as well as those Baseball Caps on one side, but surely we can’t go on and ‘photocopy’ their voices such that when I listen to a local song am reminded of Snoop Dogg, Tupac or whatever. It’s just not right. There’s this song which surely took the beat of Fat Joe’s ‘Lean Back’ only that it is Kinyarwanda. At first I thought it was its remix in Kinyarwanda but then the voice wasn’t for the big American boy but one of our very own dudes. The next thing I was praying that Fat Joe doesn’t come to Rwanda probably for a vacation and he happens to hear his song. The next thing we would not want is this poor chap rotting behind bars because of abusing copyright laws. Thank God it hasn’t happened. And what’s this thing with our local stars never having that sheen? It’s horrible when you always want to cross to the opposite side of the street when you come across a musician who happens to be an OB or pal for fear of them asking for lunch or whatever meal the hour might be dictating! Could it be that as they are ‘photocopying’ super stars music, we are not buying their music and just waiting for the radios to play it or do they just have poor managers and marketers? Do they even have managers? Somebody stop me! I could ramble on and on and on and on and on. Ends