Singer Bruce Melodie is at the centre of a debate triggered by his remarks in a leaked audio clip in which he accused fellow singers The Ben and Meddy Ngabo of ‘being lazy’. The audio, in which Bruce Melodie, real name Bruce Itahiwacu, says that he shouldn’t be compared to the U.S-based singers because he is hard-working, has elicited mixed reactions, with some accusing him of being arrogant while others sided with him. In the leaked audio, Bruce Melodie is talking to someone identified as ‘Emmy’, and he says that he shouldn’t be compared to ‘those guys’, without mentioning their names, but it later emerged that he was talking about Meddy and The Ben. “First of all, they are lazy. They are really lazy. They release one song in a year but I release hit songs every now and then. You cannot find any similarity between me and those guys,” Bruce Melodie says in the audio, which has since attracted a lot of criticism from fellow singers and players in the industry. Bruce Melodie made the comments at the backdrop of releasing his latest song “Bado”, whose official video was released on March 13. Whether it was a gimmick to promote his latest song or not, he has surely ruffled feathers in the music industry. Tom Close is among those who have come out to openly criticize Bruce Melodie for disrespecting fellow artistes, who have been in the music industry longer than he has. He said that however much Bruce Melodie can hit, he cannot overtake Meddy. He said that while it is true that Bruce Melodie is a good singer, being arrogant can be counterproductive, especially if he disrespects fellow artistes. “You can do 200 songs and someone else does just two songs and hit more than yours. Its not about the number of songs but rather, the quality of the songs,” Tom Close said, pointing out that Meddy, for example, has a song that has reached over 30 million views. He added that you would have to combine all Bruce Melodies songs to surpass Meddy’s YouTube record for a single song. Meddy’s “Slowly” has so far been watched by over 45 million people on the video streaming platform. Veteran former Family Squad member, Spax, who has been missing in action in recent years, also got out of his music hiatus to criticize Bruce Melodie, accusing him of ‘growing wings’. “I normally don’t get on camera to show my face and speak about issues but I just came out to remind Bruce Melodie that he should not be too comfortable to forget where he has come from,” “Meddy and The Ben took Rwandan music to the world. Their efforts shouldn’t be disrespected. It is time Bruce Melodie started looking outside his small circle that praises him and focus beyond that. Meddy and The Ben have attained international status,” Spax, who now lives abroad, said. The comments have triggered a number of social media reactions, with some pointing out that Bruce Melodie is indeed hardworking compared to his peers. The “Saa Moya” star has been relentlessly releasing music in recent years, easily turning himself into the leading Rwandan artiste locally. Ramadan Mupenda, the founder and proprietor of local music label, The Mane Records, also weighed in on the issues, saying that he finds no problem with what Bruce Melodie said because it is ‘his time’. “It is true Bruce Melodie is doing great at the moment. You cannot deny that. His work speaks for itself. He also has the right to say what he said. We have to respect his opinion,” “However, we need to have an industry where the role of legends or those who came before are treated with respect because of what they have achieved,” Mupenda, also known as Bad Rama, said. He said that for example, even though one of ‘The Mane’ artistes Marina is doing well, she cannot claim to have surpassed Knowless Butera, who was already established way before Marina could start singing. Faded rapper Lil G, also chipped in, perhaps, in a more brutal manner, stating that Bruce Melodie used to ‘mop halls’ where the likes of Meddy, The Ben and himself performed before he could make a breakthrough. As such, Lil G, real name Lionel Karangwa, thinks Bruce Melodie should calm down and focus on work rather than disrespecting his peers. Surprisingly, in an interview last week, Bruce Melodie had heaped praise on Meddy particularly for taking Rwandan music to another level, only for him to contradict himself in the leaked audio. Both Meddy and The Ben are yet to openly comment on the issue. Efforts to get a comment from Bruce Melodie and his team were futile. His manager Lee Ndayisaba said that they cannot comment on the matter at the moment.
