Budding Rwandan star, Brice Kana, popularly known as Brice, is causing strong waves in the country’s music industry. Brice is the new RnB voice of Rwanda. He says: “The soul of my music is not so much in the words; it’s in the way of singing.”On his debut single, “What If”, the singer-song-writer, claims his music is mainly inspired by love.According to the 26-year-old singer, today, true love has lost its meaning – he is using his music to restore the true meaning of love.“I sing music that touches people’s hearts and changes them positively. My music conveys the message of love – pure and genuine love that bonds two people to become one,” says Brice.His soft voice results into a unique, haunting sound which is velvety with subtle harmonies, yet also raw with groovy rhythms. Realising talent Brice started practicing music in Ivory Coast at the age of eight. He was born in Ivory Coast, and is the second born, in a family of three boys.“I loved singing since I was a little kid and used to interpret the songs of other artistes. I, however, seriously started practicing my vocals and writing skills at the age of 13, after joining a catholic secondary school,” he recounts. But, it was not until he returned to Rwanda, in March 2009, that Brice realised he needed to do music as a career. He started writing songs, going to studios and performing at concerts.Brice has since then released several tracks including “I Catch You When You Fall”, “Believe” and “If I”– and hopes to conquer the East African market, and also work with regional artistes – such as Kidumu and Jose Chameleon.The singer’s confident command of IT is a result of his passion and love for music.“After covering the East African Community, I’ll be eyeing the international market,” he said.His style of music is inspired by world renowned artistes including R. Kelly, Boyz II Men and Westlife.Brice’s songs are all in English: “Though I am a French speaker, I find it easy to express myself in English and that’s the reason I prefer to write my songs in English.” Rwanda’s music sceneThe “What If” star says the country’s music scene has developed drastically compared to three years ago.“By the time I came to Rwanda in 2009, the music scene was not vibrant but it has improved – with great opportunities for musicians to develop their talent.”However, he insists the industry still lacks a proper structure and label companies to sign musicians – as well as lack of enough trust in the potential of local artistes. “I believe that it will soon develop, especially because of the East Africa integration,” he notes.Locally, Brice reckons Shanel and Kitoko the best local artistes he would wish to work with. “I really love Shanel’s music and I think she is very pretty. I am looking forward to an opportunity to do a collabo with her. And of course Kitoko is great too.”Brice is doing everything that a budding superstar artiste is expected to do: “I promote my music using MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, and the local media.”
