As the month draws to an end and Rwandans ready themselves for monthly communal work (Umuganda), Inanga musician, Deo Munyakazi, released his new song, ‘Twitabire Umuganda,’ to encourage Rwandan communities, especially the youth to actively engage in communal work.
Loosely translated as "Let us be part of communal work”, the three minute song was released on Thursday and is one of the industry’s first recorded songs about Umuganda.
The song’s audio was produced by Jimmy Pro, at Level 9 Records, while the video clip was shot by Bob Chris and include some comedy acts like The Daymakers.
When contacted for a comment, Munyakazi told The New Times the best way to use ones talent is by creating impact on society and that he takes advantage of his stage name to be able to spread a message to the Rwandan community.
"I have been an artiste since 2012, and I have not heard of Umuganda songs, even when it is a social and communal activity that benefits both citizen’s social welfare and the nation as well.”
"Umuganda in one way or the other unites people from various paths of life, we connect, share, and take part in solving our own problems among others. It is customary in the Rwandan community to join hands and work towards the same goal and given that the youth are even stronger, they should be the main workforce in ensuring that the environment is kept clean and upgraded,” he said.
The artiste, in 2015, emerged as the youngest and best inanga player in Rwanda.His passion and ability to fuse the Rwandan blues with other genres quickly elevated him to big stages and festivals across East Africa, and Europe where he performed with world renown musicians like the blufunk creator Keziah Jones, jazz guitarist Tito Al Uribe, Belgian pianist Jeff Neve, French Saxophonist Guillaume Perret, English multi-Grammy Award winner Joss Stone, Kenyan nyatiti player Makadem, Rwandan traditional music guardian Cecile Kayirebwa, Rwandan poet Eric 1key and many more.
A few years down the road, Munyakazi continues to work on his Inanga playing skill while writing new music. Twitabire Umuganda is his 11th song is passionate and proud to be identified by this genre.
editor@newtimesrwanda.com