Growing up poor in the 80’s in a small village with no electricity somewhere at the border between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaïre then), I didn’t know what television was till I was about eight or nine years old. My grandfather’s small radio operating with batteries, which I pounded gently and exposed to sun rays for recharge (miracles of science!), was my only source of music entertainment. I remember the distorted sounds of soucousse, rumba, zouk machine, reggae, funk, and pop due to bad reception when my granddad wasn’t listening to the News about wars ravaging almost every part of Africa. Continue reading “Encounter with The Culture”
Tag: kigali
The System is a Rapist
Bad news bad boys, no Happy New year for you because #MenAreTrash. Apparently I shouldn’t be saying that and should instead say #IamTrash because apparently there is a good 0.1% of good men out there. But that means you would agree that there is a lot of trash in our system(s). If you think trash is a strong word, let’s go with “prejudice towards women” in general. Continue reading “The System is a Rapist”
Périples Nyege_Nyege – Kigali
Bon voilà… il est dimanche vers 15 heures, troisième journée du festival. Un pote avec qui j’étais dans le bus me dit “Paraît que le bus part à 20h.” Je continue à touner autour du festival. Je me pose devant la scène, tranquille. Je me retourne et il y a une colonne de gens assis sur des sortes de moquette en caoutchouc. Je reconnais certains visages. “Tiens! C’est le gars du bus!” Je dis gars parce que je ne sais pas c’est quoi son rôle mais il faisait le manager depuis Kigali. Nul comme manager. Mais de nul quoi. Le gars est arrivé avec 2h de retard à Kigali le jour du départ. Il me dit “Tiens toi prêt. On part à 18h.” Je suis content! J’ai hâte de rentrer. C’est quand même trop plus de 48h de EDM dans les oreilles.
The Expericment Film
I have been conflicted since the film was completed. My friend Isumbabyose, the brain behind this documentary, and I had many conversations regarding its release. Initially he made a 10min version hoping to raise interest about the full film and maybe generate some income from it but at the same time the purpose of the film is to educate about what it is to be an artist in a system that does not value arts. I’ve been working hard, pushing the envelope as much as I could but still it seems like we have many years to go. We need people who see the potential in the arts to make it an industry. Continue reading “The Expericment Film”
#My2016
2016 was an intense year, wasn’t it? Very interesting too. Has there been any other time in your life loaded with information from everywhere and everyone 24/7? Everyone was switched on this year. So much that some of us got a glimpse into the director’s cut of The World As It Is before being slapped by an orange man with tiny hands. At some point I felt like I was part of the newsroom. Well, that’s probably because I was. It’s no secret that I did bombard you regularly with posts throughout the year. If you’re reading this, you survived. Continue reading “#My2016”
