NOT MANY RWANDAN ARTISTES do expensive video songs like musician Ben Adolphe does in a music industry whose market is, to many, struggling to make profits. Ben Adolphe is one of local artistes who invest a lot of money in music videos despite the fact that he is yet to establish himself among Rwanda’s top musicians. His latest song ‘Rimwe’ released a week ago is ranked among the most expensive videos the singer has ever done in his career. He spent between USD 6, 000 and USD 7, 000 worth of the budget on the song which the director shot in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The song video’s budget comes second behind ‘Aba Ex’, a collaboration with Platini which cost over USD 8, 000. “Like any other business, you can make profits if you invest wisely in music. The less you invest the less returns,” the singer told The New Times. Ben Adolphe insists that investing a fortune in his music is not a problem because his heart is only set on doing music that will make returns for him in the future just like any other businesses. “Taking risk is part of every business and music is no exception. So I don’t regret investing so much money in music nor do am I counting losses in the music business because it’s a product that stays for years and years,” he said. Is the investment worth it? It would be a lie to say that Adolphe is harvesting from the money he has invested in music because his is ‘not one to look at direct profit’. The singer is positive that his music will one day make him one of the wealthiest artistes in the country. “So many people ignored investing in bitcoin some years back but those who invested in them are the ones who are celebrating the benefits they made. It’s the same in music,” he explained. “Music is something you invest in and when the right time for comes, no matter how long it may take, you harvest from it someday,” he said. Since he started music in 2016, the singer released eight songs of which, seven came after 2019. Adolphe explained that he took some time to study the music market and raised the money to invest in music before committing his time in studio on a regular basis. He may have released few songs given the demand from his audience but the singer insists that he cares more about quality than quantity as he seeks to do music that would remain people’s favorite for years. “I wouldn’t be doing anything if I do music focusing on quantity rather than quality. You would find some artistes who release songs every month but with quality which is below standards. “But whenever I release a song, I always make sure there is an improvement in my new project compared to the previous ones. It’s important that I drop more songs to meet the demand of my music audience but quality always comes first,” he said. Many local artistes shoot videos outside the country and the air tickets are among the expenses that raise their budgets. Adolphe, for instance, had to take his team with him to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to shoot ‘Rimwe’ and ‘Ni Rushya’. Besides air tickets, the designer, shooting the video from the Dar es Salaam Airport, and renting a jet to use during the shooting are some the details that made his videos so expensive. “Who is Ben Adolphe? Born and raised in Rubavu, Western Province, Ben Adolphe is the fourth child in a family of five. He moved to Kigali in 2016, after graduating from Nyundo School of Music in 2016, alongside the likes of Igor Mabano, Yverry Rugamba and Ariel Wayz whose music has had a quick rise over the past six years. It took the singer three years to find his footing in the music market. Since then, he has not looked back. “The journey has been quite a ride and I am glad my music is thriving every year and I hope I will only get better in the future,” he said. “The school has played a big part in my music. I am not sure I would reach this far without their knowledge,” he added. ‘Ni Rushya’, his collaboration with Uncle Austin, gave him an incredible exposure he needed and introduced him to a bigger audience. Just like he grew up looking to the likes of American musicians Ne-Yo and Chris Brown, R-Kelly, the singer also wants to leave a legacy in Rwandan music, especially his family since he is the only in his family doing music. The singer has a dream to become a celebrated African artiste and is confident that Rwandan artistes have all it takes to raise the flag high should Rwandans give homegrown artistes the respect they deserve. “I almost quit music because people do not respect Rwandan musicians but I decided not to give up because you cannot escape what you love, “he said.
