Do you ever hear that male voice echo “Bro You Had Cash?” at the start of your favourite hit song? That is the distinguishable tag for any body of work that Joel Liam Mugisha has been a part of. The 22-year-old Rwandan music producer who goes by the stage name “JOKA$$H” is all the rave he is made out to be in the Rwandan music industry. One of his works, ‘Waki Waki’ by Ish Kevin, has also introduced the new wave produced by the young generation in the Rwandan music industry and pushed it overseas. With the new variations of drill and trap dominating airwaves and playlists in the Rwandan music scene, the influence of a new wave of music creatives is evident with each passing day and with chart-topping songs such as Ririmba’s ‘VPN’, ‘Babahungu’ and most recently Logan’s ‘Inyanja’, JOKA$$H has produced noteworthy hits of the new generation in Rwanda’s music industry. How did he turn into a hit producer? Growing up, Joe always wanted to be a rapper until he got introduced to FL studio that helped him develop beats and turn around his dreams from being a rapper to a record producer. Speaking to The New Times, Joe said, I always knew I would become a musician but the problem was when and how, until I went to boarding school in senior four. “I had FL Studio installed in my laptop by the time I went to boarding school, and started learning how to make beats. I always tried Trap, Hip Hop and Afro. That’s when my hands started creating,” he said. By then, Joe says he had started his music career by creating beats and making mixes to post on different platforms like SoundCloud. He was associated with big names in the league through Pro Zed, a Rwandan producer, who introduced him to the likes of ‘Ririmba’, Ish Kevin and Kenny Kshot among others. “I met Zed through a friend and started chilling with me most of the time. We made lots of beats together until he introduced me to some of the big names we have in the industry today”. “The first hit tracks I produced were ‘Waki Waki’ and ‘Babahungu’ which appeared on Ish Kevin’s first mixtape. The two songs contributed a lot to my music career and made me a household name in the industry,” he added. The success of the two tracks attracted attention to the young producer's career and made him land to his best collabo, VPN, featuring his longtime collaborator Ririmba. Most recently, the mastermind continued on a hit streak with sensational musical prodigy Logan Joe to produce ‘Injyanja’. This song is off Logan’s most recent project, ‘Kibonumwe’. He also produced the song and the intro track titled ‘Playlist’ which he produced in a new wave of dancehall. The brilliance behind the layering of the beats, rhythm shakers and guitar tunes can inadvertently be linked to Joecassh’s ingenuity. Being inspired by the likes of London, Metroboomin, Sarz, among other local producers is what makes Joe one of the promising producers that can lift Rwandan music and take it to greater heights. The young producer is working with artistes like Pyfo, Confy, and many others who will appear on his first EP. “I have a long line up of dope songs that I’m working on to be released before the year ends. This is just the beginning,” he told The New Times. The 22-year-old producer who is also a disc jockey and song composer has produced many bangers like ‘Umubago’, ‘Volume’, ‘Ishyari’ among many others. This definitely would not be the last we will be hearing of the KA$$H! Producer, he is among the best upcoming producers to watch in 2023.
