On December 7, 2022, US based Rwandan artiste Shaffy took social media by storm with a cover version of Kamaliza’s ‘Laurette’ hit track of the late 1980S’. While it drew as much attention as the original version, the ‘Akabanga’ hit maker kept churning out cover songs, from Popcaan’s ‘Fall in love’ to ‘We all Need Someday’, one would question why a talented star like Shaffy is remaking old songs. However, the art of song covers didn’t start with Shaffy, it dates way back when gospel music was evolving in Rwanda with most artistes including the Likes of Aime Uwimana and Aline Gahongayire, making cover songs that were mainly used during worship and praise sessions in churches and other religious gatherings. Defined as a new performance or recording by someone other than the original artiste or composer of a song, there is no doubt that covers are steadily becoming a trend in Rwanda. According to Kent, an upcoming artiste, cover songs have long been a staple in Rwanda’s music industry serving as a platform for musicians to honor past legends, express their own creativity, and break into the music industry. In Rwanda, he believes that cover songs started in the mid-2000s when genres like R&B, pop and hip hop were making their way into the Rwandan music industry with most artistes remixing, covering or re-fixing songs produced by big musicians. “When modern genres started entering the Rwandan music industry, many local artistes started adopting the song covering culture and it really had a huge impact on the evolution of the Rwandan music industry. They have also helped shape the sound and culture of music around the world,” he told The New Times. Kent further noted that most cover songs are recorded by bands and solo artists as album filler, singles, or reimaginings, as well as by releasing them on live albums, studio albums, or a greatest hits compilation. According to Kellia Tuyizere, who started her music career through covering songs, there are many opportunities in song covers which is why most artistes venture in the business of music through covering songs. This, she said, can be seen in how big musicians like Ed Sheeran started their music career in song covering until they became independent artistes. “The easiest way for me to start music was through covering songs of artistes I looked up to as role models. After producing four covers, I decided to make my own projects and it really worked. Song covers are easy to push one's career because they can be posted on any social media platform from TikTok to Instagram and Twitter,” she noted. Asked if cover songs are copyright free, Tuyizere said: “Anyone can cover anyone else's song, and its creator cannot say no. That's the compulsory part. But if you do cover a song, you must pay royalty to the song's creator. That’s the licensing part”. Tuyizere is best known on cover songs like ‘Burinde Bucya', ‘Biremewe’ ‘Chuchu’ by Diamond Platnumz, Alan Walker’s ‘Am on My Way’ among many others. During his recent interview with The New Times, Sylvizo who is also best known for covering most Rwandan hit songs, said that more effort should be put into song covers for it to benefit more artistes in the local music scene. Cover songs have been around for centuries, as musicians have been reinterpreting and reimagining songs for as long as there have been songs. The first recorded example of a cover song dates back to 1909, when the Original Dixieland Jazz Band covered a folk tune called “Livery Stable Blues” and released it as “Dixieland Jass Band One-Step.” With song covers among other reforms in Rwanda’s music industry, there is hope that the future will see home grown genres and sounds dominating others globally.
