Rwandan artist to keep on your Radar in 2022!
2021’s parties anthem ‘Jowana‘ was making waves, reminiscent of that house party vibe. Confy is back with a single titled ‘Mali‘ released earlier this year, yet another girl’s name, starting to wonder whether he’s singing through his little black book. Whose name will be dropped next? This fine artist was nominated in the Kiss Summer Awards 2021; during an interview, Confy revealed, “I am happy with what I have so far achieved, the award I received as an upcoming artist and the way my music is growing and cementing a place in the Rwandan music industry. But I want to do more because I still have a long way to go because I want to improve in all aspects of my music,” his signature house party vibe is eccentric; the official video of this track features famous Rwandan influencer Cadette as the video vixen that he also used in ‘Jowana’ s video, a wonderful pattern.
IG: @confyrw, @umukundwa__
This list would not be complete without some prayer and worship; Rwandan’s are known for their Gospel sounds. So, what time to tap into your blessings, by calling the almighty God into your life than the start of the year, the gospel artists dropped their new angelic sound. The beautiful worshipper & artist Aline Gahongayire released her new track showing gratitude to God for being there when in need, titled ‘Rendez-vous‘ “appointment” in French; the video featured stunning attire paying homage to the Nigerian culture, as Aline is seen in a beautifully wrapped Gele, with colours resembling the Nigerian flag worn throughout the music video.
IG: @alga_love
Rwanda’s very own Israel Mbonyi, a gospel artist with tremendous success, is mainly known for his songs full of restoring faith and comforting messages. In 2019, he toured in the United Kingdom where he had concerts in different cities like Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, and closed the tour in the capital music central London; after such a successful tour, his fanbase grew, and his songs echo not only all over Rwanda but also across the Diaspora, his concerts tend to be super crowded. His visual execution continuously varies and has his signature as he performs live recordings with a backing choir, taking the audience back to church!
He dropped a fantastic track ‘Icyambu’ “bridge“, whose inspiration came from a revelation he received when starting his music career; this is a song well received by people as it just hit 800,000 plus views on YouTube in just two weeks.
IG: @israelmbonyi
After two years that Niyo Bosco has carved his space in the Rwandan music industry after he garnered everyone’s attention with the emotionally moving song ‘Ubigenza ute‘ “how do you do it“, he managed to capture the hearts of people, that now after only two months of releasing his newest track ‘Ishyano’ “catastrophe” it sitting at 1.5 million views on his YouTube channel. His songs are good life lessons filled with knowledge, reflection and guidance like ‘Ibanga’ “secret” speak about keeping a secret. Some highlighted points are ‘keeping a secret is a royal proof‘ and ‘If not concerned keep quiet‘ and many others. But he changed the mood with his song ‘ese urankunda?’ “do you love me?” where he talks about deception in love, asking himself questions like “didn’t I give you love you never needed? ain’t I feeding you when you are satisfied while I am starving?” this slow and very sentimental song was produced by Eleeeh. They mainly produce the afro-beats but showed his producing skill sets with this song, Element (Eleeeh) truly never disappoints.
Honourable Mention:
The Ben, ‘Tiger B’ as he frequently captions his picture with this hashtag, one of Rwandan loved Artist sweethearts, released his song in which he featured one of the most prominent Tanzanian Artists, the one, the only ‘Simba’, Tanzania’s very own national treasure Diamond Platnumz. One of the most successful artists from the East Coast of Africa; his collaborations include African Beauty (feat. Omarion), Waka (feat. Rick Ross), Hallelujah (feat. Morgan Heritage), Inama (feat. Fally Ipupa) and many more outstanding artists. Therefore, this song titled ‘WHY‘ was highly anticipated. Some fans loved this collabo, while others felt that it simply fell short artistically, with repetitive general lyrics and an okay sound, the song missing their secret sauce. Especially since it is the first time any Rwandan artist collaborated with Diamond Platnumz and is “rolling with the big boys”!
What do you think an A1 banger could do with a polishing up? – Let us know in the comments below.
IG: @theben3, @diamondplatnumz
Lastly, stay up to date with all you need to know about African music at SOA, right here.
Rwandan artist to keep on your Radar in 2022!
