ZIZOU IRADUKUNDA a.k.a Zizou Al Pacino is one of the biggest music producers in Rwanda, mostly known for bringing together talented artistes to make hit songs. As a music producer, he has done several all-star songs but his voice is never heard in his songs. “Sometimes, people in Rwanda confuse producer, manager and engineer in the music industry. The reason you see my songs featuring several artistes is that I initiate the songs from scratch, the idea of the song, the production, and the genre. Then I think of the artistes that I think might fit well in the song and they come and record. By then, the song is mine because I come up with the concept.” He told The New Times that he is working on his first album that he named ‘Five by Five Experience’, which is a depiction of the 10 years he has been in music production. Zizou recently received an award from Mothers of Hope, which is a project of the American Institute of Arts, ION Multimedia, UNESCO Rwanda, as the ‘Decade Promoter and Producer.’ According to Zizou, “it is always such a pleasure when your artworks and contributions are recognised. This shows that some people appreciate the body of work we put in.” When asked if he will include all his songs since 2010 he said, “The songs I first did were old school. I will only add them in a documentary that I am doing which will highlight what I have done. I made some other songs and so far five of them are already out.” He added that the 12 remaining songs are in their final touches and will be out eventually. His new album consists of 17 songs and so far ‘Wimfatanya n’isi’, ‘Karibu Nyumbani’, ‘Jya Uba Romantic’, ‘Ihogoza and ‘Ubanza Nkuze’ all are out. ‘LALE’ will also soon be released.
