On the cover: Miss JoJo

She is talented, regal, elegant and poised. Josiane Uwineza, a.k.a Miss JoJo, born June 30, 1982 in the Eastern Province, is a well-known R&B artist in Rwanda. Her songs including ‘Mbwira’, ‘Tukabyine’, ‘Haguruka’, ‘Nganirira’, ‘Beltrida’ and ‘Siwezi’ featuring Uganda’s popular R&B artist Michael Ross are great hits in the region. As a tot, Miss JoJo picked up musical inspirations from her teachers and friends and grew as quite an impressive artist. After a couple of years and with studies behind her back, Miss JoJo decided to gallantly pursue her dream. While still at school, she was often admired by most of her schoolmates and her teachers were as enthusiastic as she proved not be swapping her books for tunes. Miss JoJo graduated from the National University of Rwanda in 2008 with a Bachelors Degree in English Literature. Recently Miss JoJo turned down a deal by a Nigerian music personality based in South Africa, saying that the deal wasn’t worthy the services she was supposed to offer. Her fluid reason was that she was not sure about the contract and whether it would not be breached. “Music is a business, sometimes if the deal is not worth the price, you have to pull out,” she said. “I didn’t trust the whole process in the deal, that’s why I turned it down.” So what makes this young lady tick? Believe it or not, there are many Rwandan artists who have failed to carry on with their studies, not because they don’t have financial capacity, but can’t integrate music with studies. Miss Jojo wrapped up both studies and music at the same time. A fete she calls ‘God given ability’ that she did being around the clock, busy revising for exams and at the same time writing songs. She has performed at various concerts at both local and international levels. She has also performed on the same stage with world renowned artists such as Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Shaggy and Sean Paul. The 28-year-old singer has also belted important local and regional music awards, including the 2007 National University of Rwanda Rector Excellence Awards, as well as the 2008 PAM Awards. Challenges Miss JoJo noted out that the main challenge most artists face is the lack of sponsorship and the fact that Rwandans are still conservative. “Rwanda’s music industry is still young,” Miss JoJo said. “We don’t have sponsors. Cooperate companies don’t sponsor local artists, they also don’t recognise that artists can help to promote their cooperate image.” Vision Today, Miss JoJo is looking forward to developing her career to international level. She is currently working on her second album expected to be released in December 2010, or early next year. “I’m busy working on a big project of my new album. I’m quite excited and I think my fans will be excited too because the songs are just amazing and hot,” she noted. Ends