Some ten years ago, singer Rafiki Mazimpaka was once one of the most celebrated artistes who dominated Rwanda’s music industry. The singer made a name for himself as the celebrated king of ‘Coga Style’ when he introduced his unique singing style for the majority of his songs including ‘Igikobwa’, ‘Igikomando’ and ‘Tukabyine (ft Miss Jojo), and Igikosi (ft Professor Jay) among others. However, to many, it is a different story now for the singer, who led local media headlines for quite long, after he has failed to maintain momentum over the past half-decade. The ‘Igikosi’ hit maker admits his music is not at its peak and that he has been slow over the past few years but denied retiring from music any time soon as he plots a sensational comeback in 2020. “I am still doing music because that has always been my dream. I haven’t had any hits recently but we have to admit that you can’t be always on top,” he said. “After 15 years of doing music, I thought it was a good idea to take a pause and see how I can shape the future of my music. I also wanted to take the time to hear from my fans want from me and see how I could give them better music and refresh my inspirations before I go back to the studio,” he told The New Times. Last week, the singer dropped a brand-new song ‘Ngufashe’, produced by Producer Holybeat, to open his 2020 musical repertoire in style. He claims he had to keep his promise to the fans who are eagerly waiting for him to get back on top. “The past couple of years were of course worth a pause but not easy for me because my fans were always demanding for new hits,” he further claims. Rafiki revealed that he wants to keep that momentum going and says 2020 will be a busy year for him. After Ngufashe, the singer is already busy on two more music projects where his team is shooting another song called ‘Haguma’, whose audio was recorded by Producer Jay P. It could be out in the next two weeks. He is also recording a collaboration with Nigerian singer T-Kay which will be released this February. Before taking a hiatus, Rafiki had a big fan base thanks to his coga style-inspired music which made him a household name in his days. However, the singer’s name started fading on the music scene mainly because he wasn’t producing new songs and he also struggled to impress during the late Primus Guma Guma Superstar Season 5. Since then, the singer has been struggling to stay afloat and his Coga style nearly got forgotten following a decision to take a pause in 2018. It has since cost Rafiki a lot of energy and time to bring the style back to life. However, the singer says the time is now to restore the Coga’s identity. “I want to bring the ‘Coga’ style where it belongs and this is going to be a defining moment for to take see it on the top once again. I can’t afford to see it flop because it is thanks to it that I became who I am now,” Rafiki said. Only time will tell.
