It's hard to predict who the next big star in Rwanda's music industry will be, but Kabaka, one of the new kids on the block, is already showing physical potential that could see him at the top of the game by the end of the year, 2024.
He might be new to your ears, but Kevin Kabaka Giraneza, popularly known as Kabaka, already has two hit tracks to his name in just three years since he first stepped into a recording studio, one of the main reasons that makes him a promising artist to watch this year.
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Who is Kabaka?
"My father is a big music fan and he used to give me Michael Jackson tapes, which is how I got interested in the art of making music," 20-year-old Kabaka recently told The New Times, recalling his first encounter with music production.
The tapes, he believes, is what led him to listen to other genres of music such as hip hop and the then emerging Afrobeats, drawing inspiration from local acts such as Riderman and the late Jay Polly, a former member of the Tuff Gang crew that is credited with taking street rap to greater heights in the country.
"I loved the storytelling in their music and from then on I aspired to do the same by creating my own music and telling stories about the life around me, and the rest was history," said Kabaka
The road to professional music making
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the young kid jumped on the Daniel Trust challenge, urging Rwandan citizens to stay at home through free styling on beats; little did he know that the small challenge was a bridge to his stardom.
"I had to open an Instagram account to post my Daniel Trust Challenge freestyle and the feedback was crazy. I knew something big was coming, so I started doing studio sessions and small gigs until I met my manager in 2023," Kabaka noted.
According to Kabaka, 2024 is a breakthrough year for his music career where he is focusing on making big collaborations, releasing his first EP and performing at big shows across the country as well as continuing to deliver quality music.
With only two tracks; 'Melanin' and 'I want you', Kabaka is well positioned in the industry to lead the next generation making Afro-pop in the country.