FAST-RISING-ARTISTE Derek YMG, real name Derrick Assouman Uwimana, believes that Rap music isn’t appreciated enough in Rwanda as it should, and calls on music lovers to start appreciating it due to the way it’s taking over slowly in Rwandas music scene. The ‘Feel My Pain’ hit maker told The New Times that the ‘Trappish concert’ which took place on November 30, this year, proved that the next generation in music is in the hip-hop and rap genre. According to Derek YMG, music in Rwanda is slowly rising at the top, seeing how the old and young alike attend a local hip-hop concert, something which was rare in Kigali. However, he said, much more effort is needed to uplift this genre, because many still view it as a style for gangsters or school dropouts, which is one of the factors that hinders its development. Born in 1999, Derek YMG is a Rwandan upcoming artiste and graphic designer who is now making trends in Kigali after thrilling music lovers during his performance at Trappish Concert. He started his music from an early age when he was very fond of foreign music, and from then, he developed interest in Hip-Hop and R&B. “Later I joined Loud Sound Music, a movement which aims at raising the Drill genre in Rwanda. From then, my music journey became smooth because of the way Loud Sound works as a team,” he told The New Times. ‘Feel My Pain’ is a song that generated more attention and introduced him officially to the music scene. To him, this song is an inspiration he got from challenges musicians get from their daily lifestyle, and also wanted to appreciate the support and blessings some musicians get from parents. The song became very popular song that it got remixed by top artistes such as YannicK MYK and Irad Placid who makes Electronic Dance Music (EDM). Apart from making music, Derek YMG usually does graphic designing and is also a professional DJ who is signed under a music label dubbed 109 Entertainment. His name has appeared on hits like ‘Rwanda Rw’Ejo’, ‘Movie’, and ‘Faster Faster’.
