Last weekend was the third edition of the now annual Summer Beach Festival at Gisenyi’s Lake Kivu Serena Resort.

Held under the theme, We Are One, the festival drew throngs of music lovers from Rwanda, East Africa, the continent and beyond. There were also live DJ acts from the DRC, Uganda, Kenya, Burundi, and host country Rwanda. 

In his third year of organizing the event now, DJ Africano still holds vivid memories of the first Summer Beach Festival in 2013. 

That time, it was held at the Tamu Tamu Beach, also in Gisenyi, and drew the late AK47 from Uganda and Jay Polly to headline the festival. 

The following year, the festival secured not only a more premium venue -the Lake Kivu Serena Resort, but also a premium brand, Heineken for a sponsor to replace Mutzig. Surely, things were looking up for Africano and his team. 

"After that we started hosting a monthly event called Green Lights Saturday powered by Heineken every last Saturday of the month at K-Club,” he explains.

"Because Heineken is a premium brand, the event has to be hosted at premium places and with premium people. 

Heineken is about DJs and music and premium venues so that people can have a good time and drink responsibly.”

Spurred by this initial success, Africano decided there was no looking back. 

"They (Heineken) noticed that finally they had discovered somebody who likes what he does, who is true to what he believes in. The next year, 2014 I went to Kampala to represent Heineken for six months from February to July.”

On his return to Kigali, he kept hosting events at places like K-Club, Kaizen Club, Class Club, Envy Night Club, and in Gisenyi.

Summer beach festival

The idea for the festival started in 2013, when Africano travelled from Johannesburg to play at the Happy People event at the end of the year, and at subsequent gigs:

"Slowly I was developing an audience and people were getting to know who DJ Africano is, so after two years of travelling back and forth from Johannesburg, I decided to return home and set up my own brand, Africano Mania Ltd which is now expanding to PromoAfrica Communications, where we do more of brand activations through communication.” 

"We wanted people to know about Lake Kivu. Not everyone who comes to Rwanda knows that there’s a beautiful place three hours away from Kigali where you can find a beautiful beach. So that was the concept: showing those who do not know what we have in Gisenyi at Lake Kivu. 

Also for those who live in Rwanda, we wanted them to develop a culture of leaving Kigali and going to relax their minds out of town. When you go out of town and enjoy responsibly, you come back refreshed,” he explains, before adding that "life is too short, so it’s all about the great memories you create for yourself.”

His work as a DJ gave Africano the chance to travel a lot around the continent -in South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, Uganda and Kenya, during which travels he always felt that not many people know each other. 

"Sometimes you are out there and you hear questions like "Where is Rwanda? Is Rwanda in Botswana?” so I felt like people need to know each other as Africans.

People know America. People know London, so let Africans know other Africans, and this is what we try to remind people about at this event. Let everyone come by the beach and represent where they come from, be it Africa, America, or London.” 

"We had an artist called Don K 1st from the DRC, who I linked up with in Johannesburg, and when I told him I would bring him down to Rwanda one day, he thought I was kidding, but it happened. 

Then there was Shepherd, a young talented DJ from Uganda who I spotted at a Heineken event in Kampala last year. It was his first time to play outside his country.”

There was also DJ Nruff from Nairobi, who was playing for the second time at the summer beach festival, DJ Sweetie from Burundi, and DJ Pyfo, Selekta Copain, and MC Phil Peter from Rwanda.

"It’s getting better, and perhaps next year we will have all 54 countries of Africa represented at the beach in Gisenyi,” Africano says. 

"When we work with premium places, people who respect what we do, and people who are themselves professionals in what they do, the game becomes easy.

In this life, I believe that it’s the culture of partnering that takes brands to the next level. As an entertainer I need support. As a brand, Serena needs marketing and visibility. 

As for Heineken, they sell beer, yes, but the beer has to be sold and to be represented as a brand. 

People always want to relax their minds, so they need a premium event. I would say it’s a chain –there is the entertainer, a premium venue, a premium brand, and then people.”

Africano describes himself as a club DJ, a job that he compares to that of a pastor. 

"As a club DJ you drive people. You lift people’s minds and help them relax and enjoy their lives. Being a DJ is like being an entertainer. You spice up people’s lives.

"I’m a club DJ who views himself as more of an entrepreneur. As a DJ, you need to work hard to stay on top of your game. You have to brand yourself properly. You need to have discipline and be a great role model to the young and upcoming generation. 

You need to hand down the message of responsible drinking, and I always make it a point to do that. I remind them that the great and beautiful gift of life only comes once and goes once, so we need to cherish it.”

He does not subscribe to any association of DJs, but says he is always open to collaborations with other DJs on some projects. "I don’t believe in associations because I won’t succeed because I’m in an association. I will only succeed because I’ve worked so hard.” 

Africano has been wearing locks on his head for the last four years.

"I started by shaving my hair bold back in the day when it was trending. Then around 2002, I changed to corn rows. Now it is locks, and you never know what will happen next.”

He contends that dreadlocks are "all about natural stuff. If they represent Africa, my roots, that’s even better. You can maintain them for as long as you want, and you treat them on your own.”

He prefers to work the locks himself and hates salons, "reason being that they are a waste of time. I just buy my shampoo from the shop and do it myself. A few times, I call a professional to come work on them from home.”

"When I first made them, family was a bit unhappy about it, and you know family comes first, so in a way I had to be the rebel in the family. 

But they eventually get to understand as long as you work hard and show people the real you, they won’t think about your hair. It’s not all about wearing dreadlocks but you need to be smart and look like a human being. You can’t afford to have smelly dreads.” 

Where other DJs will whine and gripe, Africano seems at ease with the strict regulations in place regarding noise pollution:

"Being in a place where the law is strictly applied is good because now we live as human beings. You don’t want to go hanging out in a city where there is violence, where you can’t sit down and work off your mac book. 

If the law is strict, that’s the beauty of it. It doesn’t mean that people can’t survive. Obey the rules and find a way to make a living without breaking the law. 

If we’re here having this interview and someone is blowing music next door, we won’t be happy. We won’t even have a chance to talk. Obey the law and keep going. There’s always a way.”