TPF’s trio relish their Red Carpet moment

It may be nothing like the major red carpet events in the music industry elsewhere, but Saturday night carried the air and the trappings of celebrity worship, lights and cameras, plus a yelling enthusiastic crowd of fans. The venue was Planet Club at Kigali Business Centre (KBC), and the event was a planned appearance of Rwanda’s trio of Tusker Project Fame, Nina, Christian, and Alpha. The trio was accompanied by the supposed ‘Who is Who’ in Rwanda’s music industry, chauffeured in an executive Belvedere Mercedes Benz bus which parked with the door exactly opening onto a thin red carpet, leading to complete MTV-like star photo shoot background with logos of the sponsor stamped all over a white background. The red carpet was hugged by eager fans, waiting to experience the feel of being part of a home grown musical talent expose. Inside the club, a stage doused in lights, video cameras wired to screens ensuring revelers in all parts of the club can witness any major turn of events including a star-studded arrival, while the flash of cameras inundated the frenetic spinning of the deejay of the night and all the wannabe music stars trying to grab anyone’s attention. The arrival of the newly discovered stars was announced by the sign of Tusker Project Fame tune which helped pump up the adrenalin, and a host of loud emcees who appeared trying to out-compete each other. Alpha surprised people when he walked, smiling broadly while the shy and petit Nina followed behind with an army green cap hiding most of her cute face away from fans craning to catch a first in-the-flesh look. Christian drew a huge round of applause as he sauntered in with a celebrity swing to his walk, blowing kisses around, and throwing a few salutes here and there. Though the event organization was left wanting, the revelers would not have cared much as long as they got to see their trio. A few new artists did the curtain raising, and kept the crowd on their edges with a complicated but intriguing Umbrella dance routine, but the curtain raising acts did not really open to a real show. The trio made some comments similar to speeches before Alpha did renditions of Oliver Mutukudzi’s Todzi and Les Wanyika’s Sina Makosa, songs which he performed on his way to fame in the Tusker academy. At the end of it, the famous trio made a quick exit followed by a host bodyguards and Kigali’s maiden red carpet moment was over. Ends

Leisure

TPF’s trio relish their Red Carpet moment