Majority of the young artistes tended to lean towards romantic songs because they were believed to generate more money and fame. Of late however, songs about patriotism songs are increasingly becoming a trend not only for the elderly but young people as well. Limu Mukotanyi, real name Fraudouard Twizerimana, is one of the upcoming artists who is solely interested in music related to civic education. The 24-year old talked about his rising career, why he chose civic education and the way forward. Excerpts: When did you venture into your musical career? I recorded my first single in 2012. It was called “RPF Imvugo niyo ngiro” We were ready to start parliamentary elections. This is one of my biggest hits that opened my gates to the music career. As of now, I have one album made up of 18 songs. Why did you choose patriotism as your theme? As I grew up, I fell in love with Rwandan tradition. I then joined traditional troupes, and that is how my love for traditional music escalated. There has been a general misconception that only romantic music sells. But every kind of music can sell, if you are invested in it. In fact, we need to promote our culture, make it popular among the youth, and they will compose more songs. When you look at Kamaliza, Cecile Kayirebwa, Byumvuhore and other traditional music icons, you get to love our culture and realise that Rwandans have great talent hidden in them. I am not blaming those who sing romantic songs, but it is easier to compete on the traditional scene than on the romantic scene which also includes international superstars. Culture is our identity. What have been some of your milestones since you ventured into music? I have dreamed of performing before the president. I composed a song that was supporting President Kagame and it earned me an opportunity to be selected among the musical campaigning team of RPF in 2017 and 2018 in parliamentary elections. I have also performed different national ceremonies like Kwita Izina, Umuganura, etc. What are your future prospects? If the world is proud of Rwanda’s development, it is up to us as artistes to develop our music and raise it to the international scene. Moreover, it is also possible to translate our songs to English, French or Swahili but that can be done in a way that promotes our culture. In the pipeline, I am also writing songs in other languages, but these will be songs that will be promoting our culture.
