Nizard Niyonkuru is a Rwandan music producer who, since 2013, has been working his way to stardom by producing music for big artistes, both local and international. Born and raised in Rusizi, Kamembe District, the producer, also known as Niz Beatz grew up loving music but joined the production in 2013 working from home after realising that his passion in singing wouldn’t be an easy feat, and decided to venture into music production. “I loved singing, and I tried it but couldn’t financially afford it. Then, I looked around and realised that music production was an untapped opportunity but with a high demand due to shortage of music producers. I became music producer so I could get paid instead of me paying money for music. Basically that is what pushed me into this career.” The 24-year-old who did Tourism in secondary school, told The New Times that growing up with dreams of becoming an artist, failing didn’t stop him. Instead it motivated him and in 2013 he started making money from music production. He has been getting some help from other big producers, who he credits for his entire professional journey, having introduced him to several artistes and grow his brand. He was also entrusted to work with big names like Mani Martin, Mico The Best, Kenny Sol, Alyn Sano, Peace Jolis, Mr Kagame, Sintex, B Threy, Ish Keviv and Patrick Nyamitari. His fellow music producers that inspired him include; Jr Rotem, Dj Coublon and E Kelly. Learning from them, he became a producer, composer and songwriter. So far, he has produced more than 300 songs on the local level, he told this publication. He now owns a studio in Nyamirambo, Kigali. On the international level, he has produced some songs by Barnaba and Awilo Longomba that feature Rwandan artistes.
