As a member and vocalist of the Neptunez Band, Tabz, real name Tabitha Uwizerwa, has acquired the skills needed for a professional recording artiste.
The talented 20-year-old, joined the band in 2017 while completing her diploma in music at the Nyundo School of Music, as a budding singer.
It is then that she began learning the dos and don’ts of big stage appearances, having backed up a number of international music stars like, Nigeria’s Johnny Drille, Seyi Shay, Simi, Joeboy, Nigerian-American rapper Jidenna, as well as Haitian-American singer Ross Phyllisia and French artiste Slaï, among others.
"When I graduated in 2017, I was very young and although I knew what I wanted and my goals musically, I didn’t know how to go about it. The first years of school I thought I should first join the Symphony band before going to the field because I didn’t know what to bring,” the bubbly songster says.
"With the Neptunez band I have learned a lot. Musically you get to understand the life of an artiste having met so many artistes over the years at the Kigali Jazz Junction and other concerts. Seeing how these artistes present themselves and promote their music, being on stage with them taught me a lot in terms of performance,” she says of her experience.
With this support and experience at Neptunez Band the singer is positive that she is ready to start her own music career.
"Being part of Neptunez Band encouraged me to go solo because after performing with big artistes I want to come back on the same stage as a big artiste as well,” she says.
To kick off her recording music career, Tabz released her first song titled "Me”.
The song, she explains, empowers women to be themselves even though in the lyrics, she wonders what she can do to get a man to like her.
"As women, society expects a lot from us and wants us to be perfect according to their standards. Real beauty however is when a woman loves herself and is her real self,” she says.
The song, produced by David Pro and directed by Wax has already garnered over 7,000 views in just a week, a green light of the song’s reception for an artiste just kicking off her career.
Of the song’s reception Tabz explained: "I am so nervous because I want to hear people’s opinions, like what they think of my song. I love music so I don’t want to say I will focus on afro pop, jazz or blues, which is why I need the opinion of others.
"I have a lot in the package for my audience and make a brand in Rwanda and beyond. I am planning to work with several artistes in Rwanda,” she points out.
She believes that while the country still grapples with the challenges of Covid-19, now is the opportune time to launch her career and give Rwandans the kind of entertainment they need.
"We are in need of entertainment now more than ever, to relax our minds away from this pandemic, which is why I decided to unleash what I have because this is the time people are going to be listening to my music,”
"I am bringing myself with all that I can give and there is no competition, so I will not be comparing myself with anyone because I believe when the time is right everything works perfectly,” she reasons.
However, she also believes one shouldn’t be the reason they delay their destiny. If she hadn’t decided to never lose focus, she says she would have quit already.
"Young people should learn to take feedback into consideration but also filter out negative comments,” she says.
Jamming with the best
Tabitha’s first major break came at the Kigali-Up Music Festival in 2016, when she sang backup vocals for American musicians Skyler Jett, formerly of the American funk/soul band, Commodores, and Joey Blake.
This was a dream come true and an eye opener for the then 18-year-old and member of the Symphony band, which comprises her former classmates in music school, where she had her fair share of live music gigs, courtesy of her powerful vocals.
She went on to back up the likes of The Ben, South African songster Zahara and Nyashinski, among other artistes.