The year 2024 continues to be a good one for Rwanda’s music industry both locally and beyond the borders, with producers and artistes being at the forefront of the transformation felt in all corners of the sector. The likes of Lick Lick, Clement, and Pastor P produced music which has been leading the charts for close to 15 years. However, the new generations of producers and beat makers is emerging with their own unique style of melody revolutionizing Rwandan music and their home-made sound continues to become a hot topic in the music world. The New Times rounds up some of the producers crafting the best songs of 2024 so far. Juni Quickly There is no doubt that 'Bwe Bwe Bwe' by Bruce The First, featuring established rappers like Kenny K-Shot, Bulldog and Ish Kevin, is the best rap song of the year. The song was coined by upcoming producer Juni Quickly in the old-school hip-hop style which his already catching the attention and admiration of local music consumers, putting the young producer on the spotlight and marking his mainstream debut. Besides music production, Juni Quickly, 20, is also a rapper with a number of projects to his name including “Redemption” and “Young & Dangerous” among others. He also produced music for emerging names in the country including Hollix, Kenny K-Shot, Bruce The 1st, Ish Kevin, among others. Yee Fanta Yee Fanta, real name Samuel Bugingo, is one of the youngest producers on the list who is becoming a household name thanks to his unique Afrobeat songs which are topping local charts. The youngster started 2024 releasing a number of freestyles such as 'Ese Waruziko', 'Gute', 'Nonese Mpeze', among others, all which are still played in pubs and other public gatherings across the country. Yee Fanta’s talent and dedication has led him to producing hits like ‘Hand of God’ by Sintex, ‘Igipfunsi,’ a presidential campaign song by Uncle Austin featuring Victor Rukotana, ‘Same as Me’ by Platini P ft. Linda Montez, ‘Day by Day’ by Safi Madiba ft. Niyo D and ‘We Sha’ Papa Cyangwe, and many others. Prince Kiiiz Prince Kiiiz, real name Moïse Irabusa, is among, if not the best, music producers in Rwanda behind mega hits produced both in 2023 and 2024. ALSO READ: From Nyundo to the studio: The rise of producer Prince Kiiiz Kiiiz broke the record as the first Rwandan producer to make it on Billboard, after Bruce Melodie's hit song 'When She's Around (Funga Macho)' featuring Jamaican reggae legend Shaggy, which he produced, debuted at the 8th position on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales Chart. The producer, born Fred Robinson Mugisha, is also enjoying the success of his other projects produced this year, including The Ben’s 'Plenty', one of the mega hits produced this year. Element If you ever listened to the song ‘Jugumila’ by Chris Eazy or Ross Kana’s new song “Mami,” then you’ve listened to one of many Element’s production masterpieces. Like many producers on this list, he developed a passion for music since he was young, and he is currently the face of music production in Rwanda. Element, signed to 1:55AM label, is also a singer who has managed to produce back-to-back bangers ever since he launched a music career back in 2020. He submitted his recent track ‘MiLELE’ to Recording Academy for consideration in the 67th Grammy Awards although it didn’t make it in the final nomination list. Muriro Muriro is one of many new wave music producers who have added more creative variance to the Afrobeats soundscape of Rwanda. Since he got mainstream fame, he’s worked on multiple hits like 'Shayo' by Ariel Wayz, ‘Captain’ by Kivumbi King featuring A Pass, and ‘Up Up’ by Bruce the 1st among others. He’s behind the “Muriro!” tag at the beginning and end of various hit songs, including ‘Hanze’ by Kivumbi King, ‘Tell Me’ and ‘Monica’, two of The Dice Prince’s songs that put him on the spotlight, among many others. X on the Beat After producing Ruti Joel's debut album 'Musomandera', X on the Beat did not look back and kept producing masterpieces. Now signed to Hi5 Entertainment, X on the Beat shares an interesting chemistry with most traditional Rwandan musicians, especially Ruti Joel and Impakanizi, for whom he produced all five-tracks of his debut EP ‘Inkingi’. He started to gain momentum in 2022 after producing Alyn Sano's hit 'Radiyo' which went on to make rounds in the Rwandan music industry and contributed to the artist's comeback. He also produced some of the tracks on Alyn Sano's latest album.
