Once belittled, Gahongaire’s voice is taking her places

At a tender age, Aline Gahongaire was scoffed at by those that heard her try to sing. “I had a huge voice. You can’t sing they told me. Some told me, may be you can try to dance but sing no,” she recalls. Gahongaire now 23 was raised by a grandmother who was an expert at cultural dance and song. Though the bloodline was musical, the mockery by her friends insinuated otherwise. Despite the consistency of discouraging comments by her friends, her love for singing remained intact. She attributes her inner strength to the uplifting comments from an expert Grandmother who kept telling her of the inherent nature of music in their family line. Though called coarse, her friends didn’t realize that that was the uniqueness in Gahongaire’s voice. However, she confessed her character having been stained by the past experiences of mockery. “I get angry very fast but I explain. I used to fight a lot when I was young,” but with emotions, expresses her strong love for children. Without a sense of music her friends had ignorantly called the baritone nature of her voice coarse and manly. Saved (mulokore) from a tender age she grew in admiration for gospel music. She became an ardent congregant at Zion Temple Celebration church located at Rwandex in Kicukiro. At only twelve she had made entrance into ASAPH, a renowned gospel choir in the country at the same church.Once in the choir, Gahongaire started edging towards her dream. The strength in her voice was unmistakably outstanding. She sung with both heart and soul. She attributes this consistent urge for music to a combination of her grandmother’s motivation and her undying passion amidst discouragements. Though she survived the genocide, she lost two elder brothers. The church trainings were instrumental in shaping her dream. Later, she took on a three months course in South Africa. This added a professional touch to her music passion. And topped to the long distance bachelor’s marketing From the training, she gained the command of instruments like the guitar and piano, sharpening her ear for music.Currently, she lecturers ASAPH choir, where she was once groomed. But she is bigger than that; Gahongaire has become a popular name in the world of gospel music. Since her release of the first album in 2008, the scope of her fan base has increased catching like fire countrywide. Unlike many local musicians who won’t risk having corporate concerts in Serena Hotel in the heart of the City, this Diva has boldly proved that her music apart from having a cross cutting affinity, strongly tugs at the hearts of the high-profile normally never thought of apparently because of their selective taste. Her stage performances have crossed to Burundi, from where she holds an unfading memory that got her to tears as a multitude watched. “During the concert in Burundi, my father came and knelt in front of me and asked me to pray for him and said that he wanted to dedicate his life to Christ,” near tears she recounted the emotional moment. Her music had also reawakened her torn family as both parents financially made possible her stage performances both in Kigali and Burundi. The content of some of her music is a blend of foreign genres a tactic she says she took on to create a stir amongst the multitudes. “I package my music to reach out to all generations,” she says. Her education steps beyond the boundaries of music. Through long distance learning she has achieved a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Marketing from the USA. With the latter she has been able to start multiple businesses like Moriah entertainment, an events management company and a shop in Kimironko where she sells clothes. Going through her music, one notices her ambitious touch, as she tries to successfully infiltrate the standoffish Rwandan society using foreign beats like the south African Zouk, lumba, blues and jazz. But the first album was dedicated to the love for her culture with Rwandan beats weaving through every song. The latter was inculcated by the grandmother’s talent shaped around the dance and singing that identified with the country’s heritage. With three albums under her belt, she has daringly gone on to identify with the western icons who combine singing and acting. Ikigeragezo, a film released in two parts was her first directed movie. In the movie, Gahongaire, plays a wife who has a pastor husband. The husband gets a surprising foe in someone he thought was a friend but turns out murderous and malicious. Currently, she is shooting “It’s Possible” a series about a family that is unexpectedly reduced to poverty after its sole bread winner dies. And she promises that in the course of this year her fans should look out for ‘Ikigeragezo part three’. Ends

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Once belittled, Gahongaire’s voice is taking her places