For a few years now, Rwanda has been witnessing a dominant line in the new vanguard of Afropop superstars. Across the board, the youngest and brightest minds across Rwanda’s music industry continue to garner the attention of audiences, both home and abroad, with their infectious blend of genre-defying music. Since the early 2010s which produced a long-serving dominant sect of artists such as Urban Boys, Dream Boys, Tom Close, The Ben, Meddy and more, impactful new artists have mainly come in big numbers. However, with the amount of success the new generation of stars has already accrued in a short span, and the hunger they continue to show, Juno Kizigenza, Kenny Sol, Ariel Ways, Ish Kevin, Kivumbi King and their other talented counterparts are in good shape to continue pushing the industry. Among these classes of artistes is Boy Chopper who has been enjoying continued success of his debut track, and is among the most trending in the country today. Now, less than a year, since he started making music, Boy Chopper is dominating Rwandan Afropop conversations for his distinct, otherworldly melodies. In the same vein as Ariel ways’ ‘Bad’, Confy’s ‘Panga’ or Kivumbi King's ‘Salute’,” Boy Chopper’s “24/7” is receiving regular airplay across the country and taking over local airwaves and televisions. Premiered on November 26, 2022, the track lives at the top of charts and has gathered much attention from the public, you might think it was released last week. Miss Rwanda 2020 Naomi Nishimwe and Miss Rwanda 2022 Divine Muheto, appearing in a video vibing the song alongside Brenda Mackenzie and Zuba, the hosts of Freaky Fridays at Power FM, is practical proof that Boy Chopper is here to stay and take over. The one-minute video is making rounds on social media timelines and TikTok feeds, attracting masses to Shazam or searching for the background sound in the small video. In his recent interview with The New Times, Boy Chopper said that his goal in the music industry is to make Afropop big in Rwanda as well as take his sound overseas, among others. “I have a very high target, mainly I want to put my country in the spotlight worldwide and I want to collaborate with international artistes and producers across the globe. I want my music to make positive changes in the community,” he said. For Kevin Manzi, music analyst based in Kigali, Boy Chopper’s 24/7 is a sign that creativity among young artistes is on the rise. This, he believes, will trigger competitions among young talents that will help them to grow and export their products to places far from Rwanda. “Artistes like Chopper give us hope that we are in the right direction. The lyrics, production, and everything in the making of that song is on another level. This is the future,” Manzi said. While the song is still making waves, Boy Chopper has already confirmed another release on April 18, which follows his debut track that premiered on November 26, last year. With “24/7,” Boy Chopper qualifies to be the next big thing in Rwanda’s music industry, which is experiencing a huge boost since the outbreak of covid-19.
