AFTER A LONG WAIT, Kenny K-shot, one of the leading artistes of the new school music in the country has finally released his Mixtape dubbed Intare. Premiered on his birthday, Tuesday February 2, the 10 track piece is already taking over on social media platforms with many rating it as one of the best rap projects released so far this year. The mixtape features top rising rappers in Rwanda’s music scene such as tricky hit maker, Logan Joe, Kivumbi King, E.T Ndahigwa to mention a few. Talking to The New Times, Kenny K-shot described his recently released mixtape as an expression of what the new generation is capable of doing in boosting Rwandan music, comparing the energy and hunger they have to the one of Intare (lion). This piece, he said, the target of its making is to inspire fellow musicians to be the lions of their own jungle noting that it will uplift Rwandan music to greater heights. “I produced this straight from my soul, May I bless and touch those who relate. My message to everyone is to be bold, independent, grateful, and especially to be the king of your own jungle not only in music but also in other sectors of life,” he said. The 23-year-old who believes that Rap chose him, has already secured his place at the top of the drillers in the country, after appearing on over 5 drill hit songs like Ibitambo, Feel my Pain, Muyomba among many others. Explaining the difference between a mixtape and an album, Kenny Kshot said that mixtapes are popularly known in the rap or hip hop culture where rappers sample freestyles on existing beats and drop them. He said that mixtapes are not commercial; they focus on showcasing and marketing music without any order, and also to get more people listening to and familiar with new music from emerging artistes. A mixtape is free, easy to distribute, and is used to gain buzz around an artiste or even an upcoming album release, while an album is more polished and produced in a way to monetize directly from the singles released, according to Kenny K-shot. He also added that some of the biggest names in the music industry like Lil Wayne started off by producing a mixtape that reached the masses and gained enough notoriety for music executives to take notice. Produced by Pro Zed and a 19-year-old producer, known as Ehlers on the track, and having tracks like ‘Ibiraro’, ‘Imana Nkuru’, Gangstar and Ubwonko, Intare Mixtape might be the next trend in the city.
