Growing up in a family of singers like his mother who was part of the national ballet ‘Urukerereza' to sisters who were in choirs, music found Charles Mwafurika at the age of four when he joined the Sunday service. Lead singer and drummer at ADEPR Katabaro, Mwafurika then fell in love with music and never looked back. He is one of the renowned Rwandan artistes fusing Gakondo instruments and sounds into different genres like Afrobeat. ALSO READ: Why ‘Gakondo’ might be the future of Rwandan music He decided to embark into his music career professionally in 2016, singing in different music bands as a vocalist. In 2017, he was a backup singer for Tusker Project fame season 6 winner and singer, Hope Irakoze. In 2019 he joined a Traditional Music Band called “Indashyikirwa” which he still is a member of. Mwafurika’s mother has always been his mentor since his childhood as a choir singer. She joined the national ballet ‘Urukerereza’ back in 1980 and now sings in a choir. “What inspires me to pursue music is the love and dedication I have for it. If it wasn’t for music, I would have been an engineer by now because I graduated in Surveying and Geomatics Engineering at UR/KIST in 2019. However, I chose to pursue music because it’s where my heart belongs,” said Mwafurika. “My experience in music is quite good. I mean, doing a song and people admire you, performing on stage, interacting with the audience. I am loving it.” The singer revealed that for an upcoming artist like him, his challenge has always been funds. “I mean, you could have outstanding talent but the cost of the visibility itself stands tall when you are not financially stable especially in terms of promoting your art,” he added. Despite the challenges, Mwafurika said that so far, the journey is going well. He hopes to continue thriving to make his music recognised worldwide. On that paragraph add: He recently released a cover of ‘Igikobwa’. In five years, the singer envisions himself as a recognized artiste in the music industry. He is gearing up to release an EP of his original songs which he believes will highlight his name in the music scene.
