The Rwandan music scene keeps churning out hits that resonate across the East African region, the continent, and the entire world. The last few weeks have been no different for the thriving musical output of the country, with major releases from the likes of Alto and Knowless, as well as notable alternative drops. Are you spending your weekend indoors or without friends to keep you company? The New Times has got you covered. In no particular order, we highlight some of the best new songs one can add to a weekend playlist. YAGO - Suwejo Rwandan prominent journalist, Innocent Nyarwaya alias Yago has ventured into the music industry after the release of his first single ‘Suwejo’. The now mega hit song in Rwanda was produced by renowned audio producer Element and video director Gad. The single-track talks about Yago’s journey from his home town Tabagwe in the Eastern part of Rwanda to Kigali, where he’s pursuing his career in the entertainment industry. Suwejo premiered on November 11, on all streaming platforms and has over 500, 000 streams on Youtube. Alto - Molisa The Rwandan music industry is getting better and better with new players like Alto who produce back to back bangers. The singer, real name Eric Dusenge, is now back at the top of charts after releasing ‘Molisa’. The track follows Altos’s most viral tracks including Agasenda, Ntaribi, Wankomye and many others. It was produced by Santana and Hi5 in the new wave of Afrobeats genre. Bruce The 1ST – Icara Utagwa Bruce The 1st is on a journey to take Rwandan drill music to another level and his recently released track proves it. He first blessed music lovers with Tugende, Mandem, and has now bounced back with ‘Icara Utagwa’ which is already topping charts of Kigali. Produced by Bruce’s longtime collaborator, Kina Beat, Icara Utagwa boasts of over 20, 000 streams on different platforms during its first week. Mahwi – Knowles ft Nel Ngabo Kina Music’s Knowless and Nel Ngabo teamed again and gave their fans a hit song dubbed Mahwi. The single track dropped after Nel Ngabo’s Canada tour and is already making rounds in Rwanda. Produced by Kina Music’s in-house producers in the Zouk genre, the song has over 100, 000 streams on different platforms within less than a week. It was directed by one of the best video producers in Rwanda, Meddy Saleh. Loud Sound - Ndabarasa Loud Sound Music has released the first visuals of its second studio album Rwanda Rw’ejo 2. The first track ‘Ndabarasa’ features renowned rapper Kenny Kshot and one of the best traditional singers in Rwanda, Ruti Joel. ‘Ndabarasa’ premiered on Monday and has already earned a place among the best rap songs trending in Kigali with close to 20, 000 streams in three days. 2SAINT - Closer ft. Ariel Wayz 2SAINT keeps dominating local airwaves and his recently released track ‘Closer’ featuring Ariel Ways is now at the top. He rose to stardom after the release of ‘Mukubua’ and later blessed his fans with more bangers like Nana with Kivumbu, Fenty and many others. ‘Closer’ premiered on November 11 and has close to 100, 000 views on YouTube. It was produced in the Afrobeat genre by Urumiya who also produced Mukubua. BWIZA - Warubizi ft Kataleya & Kandle After featuring Afrique, renowned Ugandan female singers Kataleya and Kandle have collaborated with Bwiza who is among the leading female musicians in Rwanda, on her new track titled ‘Warubizi’. Premiered on November 10, ‘Warubizi’ is produced by Element and Niz Beats in Afrobeats, and has generated over 100, 000 streams on different platforms.
