Entertainment: Top ten achievers in Rwanda’s showbiz

Over the past decade, Rwanda’s entertainment industry has taken strides towards perfection. It would be an unfair game if the people who contribute towards such achievements passed unnoticed; 10. Diplomate; before his arrival, local hip-hop was seen as a scum style for wrong teenagers. Fassasi Nassur, better known as Diplomate has changed this perception and instead inspired fans of all ages with his lyrics. 9. Audio producer Jay-P promoted most of the famous artists like Miss Jojo, Kitoko, Rafiki, Lil G, and KGB. His 2007-8 touch of music productions could rate him among the best producers on African soil. 8. Tough Gang crew; Bull Dogg, Jay Polly, Green P, Fireman and P-fla more or less converged all fans to the hip-hop genre. Despite their early critics, Tough Gang set standards for wanna-be rappers.7. Mike Karangwa co-organizes the ‘Salaxy Awards’ events (local awards that recognizes the best performers in the local music, comedy and football). He also co-hosts one of the top radio shows that broadcast news about Rwandan stars. 6. ‘Miss Jojo’ has become the face of female music in Rwanda since her arrival in 2006. The ‘Siwezi’ star has fairly established herself as an international singer through her international tours and song collaborations plus the recent ‘Tusker Project Fame’ shows in Kenya.5. Everytime the talk of R’nB music comes up, the name Tom Close rushes to most fans’ minds. He officially launched the current trend of local R’nB music with his early songs like Kuki and Mbwira. 4. Rwandan showbiz must also be proud of Miss Shanel for her performance in local music and lately film industry. She stands distinguished as the only actress who has waved the Rwanda flag even beyond Africa. 3. Meddy and The Ben have always had a lot in common, including the place in the top ten achievers. The magical voiced Ben Mugisha (The Ben) prepared the way for the beloved Medard Ngabo (Meddy). The duo upgraded local music over a fortnight- Rwanda misses them already. 2. Cynthia Akazuba became the first beauty queen ever in the land as she was crowned ‘Miss Kigali’ in 2007. She went on to win the East African crown three years later, despite it being Rwanda’s first appearance in the highly esteemed beauty pageant. 1. Alpha Rwirangira; who can forget how the whole of East Africa watched as the winner of the ‘Tusker Project Fame 3’, Alpha was announced? He marketed Rwanda’s talents to the region. Ends