Ten years ago, two of Rwanda's rap titans, Emery Gatsinzi a.k.a Riderman and Bertrand Ndayishimiye, widely known as Bulldog, teamed up and blessed the Rwandan music community with Mfite Isoni, a masterclass record that united fans of Ibisumuzi, Riderman's record label, and those of Tuff Gang, a hip hop crew that nurtured some of Rwanda's biggest rappers, including Bulldog himself. On Friday, 31 May, the two most active rappers of the generation that pioneered hip-hop in Rwanda, surprised rap community once again with a joint EP, 'Icyumba Cyamategeko.' The Rwandan music world is still talking about the six-track project, which is being played back-to-back across city radio stations. ALSO READ: Album review: Alyn Sano's debut album 'Rumuri' As a journalist with a few connections in the music industry, I had listened to one or two tracks on the EP before its release, but every time I played “Amategeko 10”, arguably the hottest track on the project, it always reminded me of the good old days when the likes of MC Mahoniboni, P Fla, Fireman, Neg G the General and many other patrons of Rwandan hip-hop could all constantly hit the studio mic to release music. It’s the fourth day of the album, living on repeat on my daily playlist, so that I can review it from my own perspective. It is safe to say that the whole project has no skip! ‘Icyumba Cyamategeko’ opens with hip hop, intro track produced in soul hip hop, which sees Bulldog’s great opening verse that flows well with the beat crafted by InTheCity producer. The rapper, who is also known as Kemozera on the streets, takes the first half of the song, breaking down the struggles of life and later shares the hook with Riderman, who takes on the second verse, showing that he's here too, with an aggressive verse over a piano-heavy beat. The album was named after the song. On the second song, ‘Miseke Igoramye’, the duo raps on a soul rap sampled beat accompanied with heavy bass. Riderman leads the first verse, spitting out heavy bars full of the reality of life, before Bulldogg jumps on the second verse to slam religion and its judgmental system. The EP’s third track goes hard with both artistes rapping from a more introspective viewpoint we haven't seen from them for some time, tearing down most of the new trends on the globe, from internet wars to homosexuality, plastic surgery and prostitution of today’s era, among many other doings that were absent in the African lifestyle. ALSO READ: Album review: Tom Close’s ‘Essence’ Dubbed ‘Amategeko 10’, the song starts with Riderman flowing smoothly on the 90s hip hop beat, dissing most of the western cultures that Africa is adopting, focusing more on hate, homosexuality and divorces. “Lovers no longer last in relationships, families are always fighting, like others, I don’t get what’s happening in today’s world,” Riderman raps in Kinyarwanda. Bulldog jumps on the second verse, also joining Riderman in dissing most of today’s deeds that are beating African cultures. A lot was riding on his verse, and he delivered, using his unique ability to take songs into his own world and utilizing the beat switch perfectly to deliver deep prophecy. At this point, any hip hop fan, or just a random music listener, can’t stop or leave the EP’s streaming platform. The third track captures the attention of everyone, influencing them to keep listening or restart the whole tape. Bulldog takes over again on the fourth track, ‘Nkubona Fo’, but this time, the rappers have switched beats, flowing on trap beats, a move that also attracts the gen-z who are not familiar with 90s and early 2000s hip hop, to vibe the EP. Both track four and five are very groovy, almost club-like songs that fans of the two rappers haven't listened to for a long time. The two raps effortlessly over the beats and once again shows their versatility and talent as rappers who can jump on different genres. On the last track, ‘Bakunda Abapfu,’ the rappers return to their oldies hip hop zone, flowing on a hip hop jazz sampled beat, going hard on people that never give flowers to people once they are still alive but praise them once dead. ALSO READ: Guitarist Salvator’s album review truly a multicultural experience Knoxbeat handled recording and mastering of the album through Ibisumizi records, while the entire project was composed by Riderman and Bulldog. This album will likely be seen as a landmark achievement for the two artists and will definitely be remembered as a showcase rich rap talent that the two of the biggest names in Rwandan music right nowadays possess.
