With the latest release of Yago’s fourth song “Umuhoza, many of his fans are wondering why he shifted from what he does best to try a new thing? Last year in November, Yago surprised his fans when he released his first song “Suwejo” which garnered both positive feedback and criticism in equal measure. Read also: Meet Yago, a journalist turned Afro-fusion music star Yago was on different occasions seen helping needy people and changing their lives. How quickly did it happen that people became sick of him in the new journey he started? Is he really making bad music or do people just miss his interviews? In an interview with The New Times, producer Santana Sauce shared that what Yago is experiencing is nothing new in Rwanda as it has happened to other local celebrities. “I think his YouTube fans are just not happy that they are not getting his interviews frequently but as an audio music producer I can detect massive talent in Yago’s music,” Santana said. “The social media critics he is facing are nothing serious because many other celebs experienced the same in the past. Artists like Patrick Nyamitari and Mani Martin faced this after shifting from gospel to circular music and you can also see that the same is happening to Meddy who has been Rwanda’s best singer for a decade so I think it’s getting harder for his YouTube audience to accept him as a musician but not about him making bad music,” The Hi5 Studios producer added. Renowned music manager Alex Muyoboke who managed many Rwandan music superstars including three PGGSS winners; Tom Close, Dream Boys, and Urban Boys, also shared his opinion on the saga. “Those who knew him (Yago) personally never doubted his music talent but I think the problem is that most people were surprised when he started doing music. What I can assure you is that he does better music than some of the long-term known artistes,” Muyoboke said. He further noted: “I can’t blame Rwandans or social media users for the reception they gave him but you can’t expect much from Twitter or any other social media users because that’s what they did from the beginning and the victims are many... look at Meddy,” he added. Alex Kavukire (Kalex), host of radio music show ‘Isango na Muzika’ agreed with other music experts saying, “I really don’t understand where these critics come from.” “I don’t like to interfere in someone’s business but I think he knows what he is doing and he fought for it, so I didn’t think he can be discouraged by a group of social media people who even hide behind fake usernames,” Kalex added. Fred Mupenzi, Rwandan music fan, sees no problem with Yago singing unless someone else is benefiting from this. “At first I thought it was his promotion strategy but as it evolved it seems to be a personal issue between him and a group of social media people,” he said. Another music fan called Clovis Mutabazi said: “we loved him as a journalist and YouTuber. We liked the way he used his platform to help different people, I think the problem is that people want to compare him with other established musicians when he’s still an upcoming artiste who still has a lot to learn.”
