Gospel rapper Gentil Rukundo, popularly known by his stage name, Gentil Rkd is back with a new African musical touch, ‘Nyerekana.’ This time around, it’s not a gospel rap, but a hip hop cultural and lyrical tune that calls out people in African countries to appreciate and showcase their beauty and cultures. “I was inspired by the fact that Africans have much to show, but most times their beauty is shunned, or diluted by people who are not even Africans, but just want to spread false information, to demean our values,” he says. The songster encourages mostly Rwanda and Burundi to focus on their values and dignities, with their rich beliefs as they define them. He also wants to motivate Africans to join efforts and fight against the western media’s wrong perception of African countries as often they report and display turmoil and challenges, instead of the positives, and successes. Rukundo urges Africans to offer support and paint a great picture about each other, instead of spreading hatred and negativity towards one another as that divides them, yet unity is required. Having traveled to Burundi, he realised that the perception of those who don’t live or don’t have a family member or friends in the country is completely different from experiencing life there. He therefore concluded that it’s much easier to spread false information about a nation before staying in it. The poetic song took him about four hours to compose. “The first part of the song, which is rap and the chorus was written in about an hour or two, whilst, the second part which is a poem and traditional verse, was also written in about an hour or two.” Rukundo wrote the rap verse and chorus, and Burundian traditional artist Sylivestre Nzobanga crafted the traditional part of the song, intros and outros. Although this is the gospel rapper’s second single, after Ikiganiro, he has done a number of collaborations. His inspiration while writing his songs depends on people, culture, and things around us that can enthuse those who listen to his music. The songster pledges to release more inspiring projects to his supporters. While joining music, the songster sang secular music but switched to gospel music in 2012, in one of the overnight prayers where he decided to use his voice and talent to serve God. Rukundo is also part of a musical group, One Voice Rwanda, which holds a vision to release songs that are inspirational to society. The group of rappers and singers has released songs like “Wowe”, “Umurage” among others. The youngster accepted Christ as His Lord and Savior in 2010, and started having a personal relationship with God at the end of 2019. As long as he is still alive, he stresses that his voice will minister, teach, transform, and raise awareness about important issues in society. No wonder he invests his time and energy in research, and gets help from other talented vocalists and songwriters to improve his craft. Rukundo is among the many self-taught artistes in Rwanda, and the only singer or rapper in his family. His talent was incited by jotting down some lines that turned to lyrics, adding the beat and rhythm, and kept practicing. When he looks back, this is a passion that he never regrets giving a shot.
