Two months ago, fans of gospel music duo Papi Claver Tuyizere and Dorcas Ingabire, took to social media to celebrate and congratulate the couple on their firstborn. They celebrated the baby girl as a new member of the worship family that is winning the hearts of Rwandan gospel music lovers, both believers and non-believers alike. Barely a year since the lovebirds began singing together, Papi and Dorcas have become a celebrity couple, famed for their worship songs and covers. Tracing back their musical career, Papi Claver Tuyizere started joining choirs in his primary and secondary studies, after adhering to the Lord’s calling at an early age. As a young boy, he was challenged to join a Zion Temple church talent competition in 2016, where he was awarded free production of his two songs in a well-established studio. The competition he recalls, nurtured his talent that he eventually chose to pursue his dreams at Kigali Music School and upon graduation, the school’s administration enrolled him in the school staff. “Just after I graduated, I was hired to become a music coach in the same school”, the guitar player told The New Times, citing that it was by the grace of God, he achieved that. Papi however realised that pursuing music alone couldn’t sustain him and so pursued I.T studies at Rwanda Polytecnhnic (IPRC). “For me, it’s a poor mindset to think that the ministry alone can cater for your daily needs. We do not minister to get money; it is the great commission we got from Christ. So, I wanted to minister while doing a job on the side, that is why I pursued those studies”, he said in a telephone interview. For his passion, he also started his YouTube channel, which he did not know will become one of the biggest Gospel channels in Rwanda. Their YouTube channel viewership escalated in a short time during the Covid-19 lockdown in April 2020, having garnered over 67,000 subscribers in a few months. “As an upcoming artist, I wanted a platform to store my art pieces, and I opened up a YouTube channel, but it was not really active”, he recalls. The Impamvu z’ibifatika hit maker then married Ingabire Dorcas, a fellow believer he hoped they would collaborate in his future music endeavors. Ingabire was also a growing music icon, a member of Musanze-based Goshen choir. Her background made it easy to conduct daily devotional worship sessions which coincided with the Covid-19 pandemic’s outbreak in Mid-March. “We had the plans earlier, but the implementation kicked off during the lockdown because we had enough time to settle down and work out our plan”, he notes. During the lockdown, churches were closed as well as most of the other activities regarding worship. Many people considered the Papi Claver official YouTube channel as the platform to fellowship, since regular worship sessions were uploaded on the site. “You can’t understand, but we were excited. We thank God for letting his spirit accompany and bless the initiative”. The duo, who are members of ADEPR Church at Dove hotel in Gisozi, said that after the pandemic is over, they plan to organise a concert to appreciate their fans who never stop showing love and support every day.
