Ibrahim Cyusa, a budding traditional music singer and dancer, on Thursday morning released his first traditional Rwandan single as a Valentines Day gift for his fans. Cyusa’s latest single dubbed, ‘Umutako’, has been touted as a great romantic song. It is a catchy traditional tune about keeping each other warm through the good and the bad in life. “The audio was uploaded on YouTube on Wednesday, at around1am. The video will be released later, because I want my fans to first enjoy the song and understand the lyrics. It is my first production,” Cyusa said. “Right now I just want to work harder and produce more music. Very soon I will release Ndi Umunyarwanda, a song about patriotism, in not more than two weeks from now. Later, I will release one about the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi,” he added. Cyusa is highly regarded by traditional music icon like Masamba Intore, as a talented gakondo artiste. The 29-year-old half-brother of Rwandan-born Belgian star, Stromae, is, according to Masamba, destined for great things because of his love for gakondo. Cyusa, who is also a member of Inkera dance troupe, is son of Pierre Rutare, a victim of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Rutare was an architect, who designed and set up the first model of the roundabout in the centre of Kigali. Though ‘Umutako’ is his first single, in October 2015, Cyusa co-produced a song called ‘Izihirwe’, with Charles Uwizihiwe, another gakondo artiste. I composed ‘Izihirwe’ as a dedication for my grandmother, I owe so much because she encouraged and supported my passion at a tender age. Cyusa, who quit a bank job in 2017 to concentrate on music, has 14 singles to his name. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
