It is with no doubt that Rwanda’s music industry is in its shining era, and more than ever, home-grown artistes are producing smash hits and winning hearts of music listeners across the world.
For the first time in the history of Rwandan music industry, a song produced by a Rwandan artiste is getting close to 100 million views on YouTube, while the Gen-z in the industry have also made it a habit to get millions of views on the famous platform within hours.
Also read: World Music Day: Top 10 most viewed Rwandan YouTube videos
The New Times Weekender looks at the top 10 most viewed Rwandan songs on YouTube.
1. Slowly - Meddy (92 million)
Over the last decade, US based Rwandan artiste Meddy has been dominating charts with some of his singles breaking records as the most selling and streamed Rwandan songs on different online streaming platforms.
His number one hit song ‘Slowly’, released in August 2017, is currently number one most streamed track by a Rwandan artiste on YouTube, with 92 million views.
The song was produced by Licky Licky and is said to have gained popularity
through weddings.
2. Dusuma - Otile Brown ft. Meddy (42 million)
Otile Brown’s decision to feature Meddy on ‘Dusuma’ was a game changing move to his music career and marked the start of his fame in Rwanda.
Meddy’s appearance on the song blessed it with 42 million streams, and is so far the most popular song produced by the Kenyan artiste.
It was produced in 2020 and is the second official video off of Otile’s debut Album JUST IN LOVE.
3. Nimekupeta Yesu - Ambassadors of Christ (35 million)
Ambassadors of Christ, a seventh Day Adventist choir, is among, if not, the famous choir in Rwanda, which won admiration of the whole East African region, with their overwhelming songs mostly composed in Kiswahili.
Their most viral song is Nimekupata Yesu, the third most viewed Rwandan song on YouTube with 35 million views. It was released in 2018 with Kiswahili lyrics, which helped make it popular across the East African region.
4. My Vow - Meddy (31 million)
Meddy’s ‘My Vow’, which features highlights of his wedding in its videoclip, is the fourth most streamed Rwandan song on YouTube with 31 million views.
It was produced in 2021 by Madebeats and directed by 1Shot.
5. Why - The Ben ft. Diamond Platnmuz (19 million)
‘Why’ by The Ben and Tanzania’s mega music star Diamond Platnmuz is the recent smash hit to come out of Rwanda with 19 million views on YouTube within less than two years.
It was also produced by Madebeats, one of the biggest music producers in Rwanda.
6. Nina Siri - Israel Mbonyi (16 million)
Israel Mbonyi is currently the top gospel musician in Rwanda, with dozens of hits that are not only trending in Rwanda, but the whole East African region. Among his most viewed songs is ‘Nina Siri’, which has so far 16 million streams on YouTube.
Nina Siri premiered on 26 June, 2023.
7. Queen of Sheba - Meddy (15 million)
‘Queen of Sheba’, Meddy’s song dedicated to his wife, is also among the most streamed Rwandan songs on different streaming platforms, with YouTube leading others with 15 million views.
It also premiered in 2021.
8. Katerina - Bruce Melodie (13 million)
Bruce Melodie’s hit song ‘Katerina’, which he named after his wife, boasts 13 million views on YouTube.
The Afro beat song was released in 2019 after Bruce Melodie’s visit to Europe where he also shot the videoclip of the song. It was directed by one of the leading videographers in Belgium, Julien Bmjizoo, and written by Mike Kayihura, one of the most famous song composers in Rwanda, and produced by Madebeats.
9. Lose Control - The Ben ft. Meddy
‘Lose Control’ by The Ben featuring Meddy lyric’s video has so far generated over 12 million views on YouTube. The collaboration was published in 2018 and directed by US-based video producer Chris Kayite. The song features two of the biggest Rwandan celebrities, which is the reason why it turned out to be a hit that won the attention and admiration of many music consumers.
10. Holy Spirit - Meddy
Meddy’s track dubbed ‘Holy Spirit’, released 10 years ago, is also among the most streamed Rwandan songs with 12 million views on YouTube. The song is one of the few gospel songs Meddy has, and among the first he produced after relocating to the US a decade ago.