Today, Yvan Burabyo, who rose to stardom by the name of Buravan, would have turned 28. The young vocalist died August 17, 2022, a day many Rwandans will never forget—the day Rwanda’s pop culture lost one of its giants, a day that marked the end of one of Africa’s greatest live performers. There is no doubt that Buravan’s music touched millions of people around the world, as his mentor Intore Massamba said a few days just after he succumbed to pancreatic cancer in India. One of the main things that Buravan will always be remembered for, is not only winning Prix Découvertes RFI contest, or being the only Rwandan artiste to have a successful African tour, it is establishing his own genre that merged modern afro pop and Afrobeats of West Africa with ‘Gakondo’, the traditional style of Rwanda. “He was intelligent and easily adjusted especially when he was switching from doing outright urban pop and afro-beat to ‘Gakondo’, the traditional Rwandan style, which he had boldly transitioned to by the time of his death,” Massamba said on August 23, 2022, during a night to remember the deceased musician. “He has played a key role in transforming the Rwandan music industry. His music will live forever,” Massamba added. This among many other factors, is what makes Buravan’s impact on Rwanda’s music industry live on. One may ask, what did he do to make his music and name live forever? Winning Prix Découvertes RFI contest twice On November 8, 2018, Buravan was announced as the winner of the Prix Découvertes RFI 2018 contest, an annual competition involving artistes from across Africa. He later broke the record to be the first artiste to win the contest twice last year when he was selected as Prix Découvertes RFI winner for 2022 a few days after he died. Creating a sub-genre that promotes ‘Gakondo’ music Among many things that Buravan did in Rwanda’s music Industry is his last album ‘Twaje’ that he produced in a fusion of modern and traditional music with interest in bringing a cultural vibe in Rwandan music to maintain the identity of Rwandan music. Speaking to The New Times back in 2021, Buravan said that the reason behind the creation of this sub-genre, is doing music that focuses on culture values and producing it with additional sounds of traditional instruments. “I am convinced that this genre is the right thing to do for our music and I believe that if everybody contributes, nothing can fail. So I am sure, with the current vibe which is still impeccable, my music can still succeed,” Buravan said before the official release of his latest album Twaje. “I want to be a modern artiste, of course I am in the modern age, but I can at least make sure that what I do has connection with my roots. My country has its own culture. So I have to share it through my music,” he added. Twaje, which loosely translates as ‘We’re Coming’, is Buravan’s second album after ‘The Love Lab’. Twaje is still trending in the country with over 10, 000 weekly streams on different platforms. Mentoring up and coming artistes One cannot say that Buravan left Rwandan music if Ruti Joel is still alive. This is because the deceased musician mentored Ruti Joel who is one of the best artistes with one of the albums that have stayed at the top of charts for a while. Ruti Joel’s ‘Musomandera’ consists of over eight tracks composed by Buravan who also contributed to the production works of the project. The likes of Kenny Sol, Juno Kizigenza among many other upcoming artistes also grew inspiration from Buravan. Only Rwandan artiste to have a successful African tour In 2019, Buravan became the first Rwandan musician to tour 12 African countries as part of the package the singer received for winning the 2018 edition of the prestigious Prix Decouvertes RFI music prize. Dubbed Tournee Africaine (African Tour), the tour reached big countries including Benin, Gabon, and concluded in Paris, France. The tour accelerated Buravan’s music career and introduced his name to different people from different cultures around the world.
