In 2016, two young talented boys fresh out of high school with the dream to be the next big disc jockeys on the continent, met at a local radio station in Kigali, and the rest, as they say, is history. Through their sessions at Royal FM/TV, the two upcoming disc jockeys honed their skills on turntables, and introduced their sound to different events and pubs of Kigali. After just two years, when their contract with the local radio station expired, Bertrand Kaysan Iyarwema, aka DJ Berto, and Habib Kamugisha, also known as DJ Habz, combined their talents and created what has never been there in the history of Rwandan music. With the help of the Nep Family, a handful of sister companies that are all under the umbrella of RG Consult, DJ Berto and DJ Habz formed the Nep DJs group in 2018, the first DJ duo in Rwanda. “It has been an interesting journey for us, and this is just the beginning,” DJ Berto told this publication as they celebrated their first four years as Nep DJs on March 17. Inspired by Deejay Smith, DJ Berto described the last four years as a period that introduced them to the streets where they headlined some of the best gigs so far, including the Jidenna concert. “When I was in high school at Agahozo Shalom Youth Village, I started falling in love with music, from production to using software like Virtual DJ. After graduating, I decided to pursue disc jockeying as a career and I never looked back,” DJ Berto said, explaining how he learnt the art of mixing music. DJ Habz also rose to stardom through different high school events that he used to headline before linking up with Berto. “We started as DJ Habz and Berto, but we wanted to bring something new and that’s how Nep DJs came to life. “We broke onto the scene in the first two years, and the rest was quite challenging because of the pandemic, however, we learnt a lot in that period, like working on our skills and doing more practice,” Habz, told The New Times. The DJ who is into rap, R&B and dancehall further said that the reason they kept moving forward even with Covid-19, is the dream to be great, which is why they are back on their feet after almost two years. The return of the Nep DJs after the reopening of shows was inaugurated by live sessions of Amapiano at Radisson Blu Hotel Kigali, one of their sessions that attracted many music lovers. “Amapiano was taking over locally and internationally and we thought of creating a space where fans of this genre can interact and have fun,” Habz said. The boys have headlined top events such as Yvonne Chaka Chaka’s show, Jidenna in Kigali, Skale’s show, Awilo Longomba and Mani Martin at Kigali Jazz Junction, Movember Fest with Adekunle Gold, and many others. In the past four years, Nep DJs, with the use of advanced technology, introduced a new style of mixing original live music with their sessions, an act that was only done by renowned DJs like Big N and Alternate Sound Band. “We introduced this style because there was no one doing it. The whole idea was to deliver the best to both live music lovers and our fans,” DJ Berto said. According to DJ Habz, disc jockeying has evolved in the past few years and now being a DJ in Rwanda is more of a career than a hobby. “People have started understanding that the music industry pays like other professions in life. We are paying taxes and earning money that feeds us and our families,” he said. About how the whole industry stands at the moment, DJ Berto noted that it is rising at a good pace and all it takes to get to greater heights is team work and collaboration among local musicians. “I used to play a few Rwandan songs in my set but now I can play local music all night,” Berto said, explaining the growth of Rwandan music. What’s next after four years? The duo plans to grow and get new members in Nep DJs, especially women, and also make their name a brand that will start selling. The two, spotted most of the time in matching outfits like caps, t-shirts, and hoodies, usually with the words ‘Nep DJs’ on them, said that the outfits are going to be sold to any fan who wishes to have them. The Nep DJs after introducing their weekly mix dubbed “Unexpected” are going to start dropping more projects, including more mixes of different genres as well as solo projects. They are known for their live sessions at Blackstone Lounge on Thursdays and Sundays, as well as Cocoa Bean Bar on Fridays and Saturdays.
