Soothing News: Hear the Sounds of Nu Kigali

Born in Nairobi, Kenya, Kayihura joined a church choir when he was 12 years old. “I wasn’t the best student academically,” he says. But finding his voice in the choir opened a door for him.

Listen to Mike Kayihura’s album Zuba on Spotify.

Poet, rapper, singer and songwriter Angell Mutoni kicked off her career in 2015 at age 22. Mutoni’s music is a mix of poetic Afro-hip-hop, pop, R&B and soul — which sounds like a lot, yet there is no clutter, just raw emotion. When you hear tracks “Imbuto” and “Inzozi,” you might sense an early-2000s R&B aura — which might cause a wave of nostalgia.

Mutoni was born into an artistic family. Her father, a musician, helped create her musical foundation. “There was always music being made or played at home, and he used to take us to music events,” Mutoni says, noting that, as far back as she can remember, she wanted to be an entertainer. It was during her high school years that she developed a sense of herself as a musician. “And as the universe would have it, I met people that had similar visions and dreams, and the rest is history.”

“I don’t ever want to put myself in one box,” she tells OZY. “I like to give myself the freedom to experiment, and just explore when creating.”

Listen to Angell Mutoni’s album Pandemic Pack.

“It took us some time to popularize this genre,” says B-Threy. “We celebrate how far it has come.” His music features hip-hop beats blended with his fast-paced style of rapping, commonly called chopping, which he delivers primarily in the Kinyarwanda language.

Listen to B-Threy’s “Nicyo Gituma.”

In July this year, Mike Kayihura had his first show outside the country, in Kampala, Uganda. It was a solo concert advertised simply as “A Night with Mike Kayihura.”

“It was the first time I ever really showcased my sounds away from home for different people,” he says, adding that it was a huge deal to emerge from the pandemic with a chance to perform “Zuba” for fans beyond Rwanda.

His success in Uganda was followed up, earlier this month, with his first show on another continent — at Birmingham Palace, Brussels.

“Organizing shows and getting people to show up, and getting paid — it’s happening,” Kayihura tells OZY. “Obstacles are there, like it is with anything else in life, but I choose to look at the positive side.” For him, he says, a significant positive is the chance to create a new genre.

The sub-genre takes inspiration from American rappers Gucci Mane, T.I. and Young Jeezy, who pioneered trap music in the U.S. The name “Kinyatrap,” which references the Kinyarwanda language, was coined by producer Dr. Nganji, who is the founder of Green Ferry Music, a Rwandan entertainment company and record label that is home to almost all Kinyatrappers. He saw in American trap certain flavors that he believed would enrich local music styles. Today, Kinyatrap combines a poetic word flow and unpredictable melodies with stirring beats, in a distinctly Rwandan re-imagination of trap.

“Had we not been intuitive, Kinyatrap would still be in our diaries,” Nganji tells OZY. “We had to try a variety of sounds and beats to get the right identity, because we wanted to build something that will stay for generations to come.” Today he is happy to report that Kinyatrap is growing due to talented new artists.

“This tells us that its future is in good hands,” he says.

Listen to “Nituebue” by Bushali ft. B-Threy and Slum Drip.