We last heard from Kevin Skaa back in 2023 when he released his single “Another Round” although it did not boom like most of his music normally does. He has since taken a break, not because of the song, but for other various purposes. Skaa, born Kevin Shema Kananura, decided to take a break to focus on his other career, structural design, and give his debut album ‘Identity’ ample time to work on it. The seven-track’s release is set for November 15. It includes songs like ‘Abondance’, ‘Confirm,’ which is a collaboration with rapper Bushali, ‘Beaute’, ‘Amafaranga’ featuring Dir P, ‘Monster’, ‘Good Love’ and ‘Avec Elle’. ALSO READ: Nine emerging Rwandan music acts to watch in 2020 In an interview with The New Times, the singer, who had a remarkable breakthrough thanks to hit songs like ‘Special’ and ‘Medicine,’ discussed more on his break, comeback, his career aspirations and debut album. Why name your album “Identity”? I named it ‘Identity’ because it’s going to show who Kevin Skaa really is musically and I will be working differently from how people expect me to work. What personal experiences from your break influenced the songwriting on this album? When I started music, I used to just write what comes in my mind, depending on my mood on the day, but now I realized that making many consecutive hits does not only require talent, it also requires a systematic mind which I used when writing this album. It is talent plus a systematic analysis of what I have written so, if one of the songs on the album becomes a hit, I’m going to be unstoppable because I will know what rules I followed when writing the hit. What inspired you to return to music at this particular moment? I had quite difficult moments that made me want to stop doing music for the sake of my personal mental health, however my love for music and people who genuinely love my music, I decided to keep going. What needs to be done is to just avoid the circumstance that would bring me back to the past conditions. How has your approach of making music evolved during your break? The sound of my new album might be a bit different from what people normally listen to but, in that same spirit, I tried to give on a song which has a style that people listen to more often. What all songs have in common is that they are more lyrical and melodic. Some are soul music or club bangers. I hope people will love them. What message do you hope your fans take away from the album? They will get to know more about Kevin Skaa and they will get to understand that ‘talent is talent’ no matter what time it takes to be back in the industry What was the most challenging aspect the time you returned to the studio? Getting in the studio is not hard because I am there quite a lot of times but the processes that one goes through after the studio up to the release date and promotion, personally it is really hard to manage. Did taking time away change your perspective on the industry? Yes, pretty much. I have realized that everyone has their blessings and, for that, I only follow my own pace, even though it was hard in the beginning because the pressure out there is real. Are you now back for good? There was one time I thought of quitting music but I have no intention to quit anymore. I am just going to have my own pace and my own strategies but my fans won’t be bored anymore.
