Songbird Knowless Butera continues to make massive strides in the music industry, recently becoming the first Rwandan artiste to collaborate with a Grammy award-winning artiste. On the new track dubbed ‘Agüita e Coco’ by Cuban-Canadian singer-songwriter, Alex Cuba, Butera’s work is a significant milestone and testament to the growing popularity of Rwandan music. The song which has verses about the beauty of a Rwandan girl paints the picture that music can bring people together, and promote diverse cultures. Asked about the collaboration, Butera said that the whole experience was fun, mostly regarding how both cultures blended so well. “This adds a lot not only to my career but also to the entire Rwandan music industry because the more we work with such people, the more we put Rwandan music on the map,” she told The New Times. Cuba on the other hand said on his Instagram page that it was his first time collaborating with an African artiste, however, and he had been looking forward to doing so. “I am beyond proud of this collaboration. Mighty Popo told me that he wanted to bring me to his music festival in Rwanda. He thought that I could do a collaboration with a Rwandan artiste and have a fan base and get my music in Rwanda. I already had a song so when I sent it to him, he loved it, and when we asked Knowless to record her part she agreed. “When I got to listen to Knowless’ part written in Kinyarwanda it got me up, her sense of rhythm and the sound of her voice is very beautiful. The song is all about happiness and I hope everyone enjoys it, let us all spread love and be happy,” Cuba wrote. Butera has been a trailblazer in the Rwandan music industry for over a decade, having won numerous awards and nominations for her music. We can only hope that more artistes follow in her footsteps and collaborate with big talents across the continent and world. About Alex Cuba Alexis Puentes, better known by his stage name Alex Cuba, is a Cuban-Canadian singer-songwriter who sings in Spanish and English. Born in 1974, Cuba is the son of guitar player and music teacher Valentin Puentes. The star who started playing guitar at the age of six immigrated to Canada in 1999 after marrying a Canadian in Cuba. He has won two Juno Awards for World Music Album of the Year in 2006 for ‘Humo de Tabaco’ and in 2008 for his second album, ‘Agua Del Pozo’. In 2010 he won the Grammy for Best New Latin Artist. His 2015 album, ‘Healer’, earned him a Grammy Award for Best Singer-Songwriter Album and a Grammy Award nomination for Best Latin Pop Album. His 2021 album ‘Mendó’ won the 2022 Grammy for Best Latin Pop Album.
