THIS YEAR’S KISS SUMMER AWARDS have interesting pair ups, pitting what you would call old guards against new emerging artistes who are giving their elder peers a run for their money. Could this be a sign that the Rwandan music industry is transitioning?

We will know come October 29 when the Kigali-based radio station, 102.3 Kiss FM, announces the winners of the 4th Kiss Summer Awards which are expected to be handed out in a physical ceremony for the first time since their inception three years ago.

Though the youthful station is yet to announce more details of the awards, the four categories have pitted young blood against artistes you could say have been in the industry for a while and can be seen as veterans.

The battle also crosses over to producers where new and young producers are battling it out with their seniors in the downsized awards which are now down to four categories.

The categories this year are ‘Best New Summer Artist’, which is the only category with newcomers, ‘Best Summer Artist’, ‘Best Summer Producer’ and ‘Best Summer Song’.

In the ‘Best Summer Song’ category, ‘Igikwe’ by Gabiro Guitar and new-kid-on-block Confy, is leading in the votes with 54 percent, followed by Meddy’s ‘My Vow’ with 25 percent while ‘Away’ by Ariel Wayz and Juno Kizigenza trails with 11 percent ahead of ‘Katapilla’ by Bruce Melodie and ‘Amata’ by Dj Phill Peter and Social Mula.

Best Summer Song Nominees

Best New Summer Artiste

Best Summer Producer

In the ‘Best Summer Artist’ category, Bruce Melodie is proving his seniority, leading by 44 percent, followed by Meddy with 30 percent of the votes so far. Juno Kizigenza follows with 19 percent, well ahead of Knowless Butera and Social Mula, with 2 per cent each.

Best new artiste category is a tug of war between rapper Confy with 35 percent, followed by Papa Cyangwe with 28 percent. Vestine and Dorcus have so far garnered 27 percent of the votes while Niyo Bosco trails with 4 percent. Symphony Band has so far managed 2 per cent.

The ‘new vs old’ battle is more elaborate in the ‘Best Summer Producer’ category with producer Element, known as Eleee outclassing his much older peers with a 77 percent lead. Ayoo Rush, his closest rival has 11 percent of the votes so far.

Older timer Clement Ishimwe of Kina Music has 5 per cent while Made Beat has 3 per cent and Bob Pro 2 per cent.

Kiss FM has been giving out the awards since 2018 but 2021 seems to be the year which will draw a line between new school and old school on the Rwandan music scene.

With the downsizing this year, the Kiss Summer Awards 2021 seem to have left out a lot to be desired, with the gender balance coming into question while many other artistes who worked hard in the past year seem to have been left out.

According to presenter Uncle Austin, this year music fans will be able to pay and access the venue for the awards as concerts and events begin to come back slowly.

The station has already got sponsorship from partners including Skol. Attendees will pay a fee yet to be known and present a Covid-19 negative test.

To vote for your favourite artiste, click here: https://kissfm.rw/the-kiss-summer-awards