Bruce Melodie, the first Rwandan musician to participate in Coke Studio Africa, will not be among the artistes to collaborate with American singer-songwriter Jason Derulo. According to Melodie, it is not clear to him as to why he was dropped. “I might not have made it to the list of the 11 African artistes recording with the American music star, but I am pleased that I did my best in the first phases to showcase my talent and represent my country well,” he said. Anyiko Owoko, the public relations officer at the Nairobi based Coke Studio, told The New Times that Melodie had already done his part to represent Rwanda, but hesitated to explain why the singer could not make it to the studio. “Based on teen research and insights, Bruce Melodie was selected and was paired with Khaligraph Jones from Kenya. He has already been to the Studio and we cannot wait to share the amazing content he has produced with music lovers across East Africa,” she said. Owoko noted that Rwanda started airing Coke Studio in 2016, and thanks to the overwhelming response that the show received, an artiste from Rwanda was included in the East African line up for the show in 2017. The Ikinya hitmaker returned home from Nairobi a few days ago, and is expected to return to Kenya in September for a video shoot. This year’s episode is dubbed ‘The Global Fusion Edition.’ Two acclaimed African music producers DJ Maphorisa (South Africa), Masterkraft (Nigeria) will be producing all the music of the Global Fusion Edition. All the music will be performed and recorded live alongside Coke Studio’s highly talented house band. The new season is set to premiere in different regions from September this year and will be broadcast in more than 30 countries across Africa. The 11 African artistes, who are currently in the Kenyan capital recording a song with Jason Derulo include Dela (Kenya), Rayvanny (Tanzania), Bebe Cool (Uganda), Mr. Bow (Mozambique), Falz (Nigeria), Joey B (Ghana), Betty G (Ethiopia), Jah Prayzah (Zimbabwe), Shekhinah (South Africa), Locko (Cameroon) and Denise (Madagascar). The song is expected to be aired in September this year. The Coca-Cola Company, through their music flagship show Coke Studio, this year merged Coke Studio Africa and Coke Studio South Africa into one bigger and better Coke Studio Africa 2017. Coke Studio Africa 2017 promised to be a melting pot of music talents bringing together renowned music producers and top-notch artistes drawn from various parts of the world. It aims to inspire and introduce Africa’s music talents to a new and wider audience through interaction, collaboration and cooperation amongst musical artistes while also building a strong brand connection with Africa’s young and growing population. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
