IN 2017, a handful of young boys mainly high school graduates located in Kicukiro, came together and created sounds that resulted in the Kinyatrap genre, a maverick musical wave sweeping Rwanda. With a seamless lyrical flow whose cadence is reminiscent of kwivuga, oral storytelling tradition performed at weddings and large gatherings, Kinyatrap melds poetic tradition with unpredictable melodies and stirring beats, creating a distinctly Rwandan re-imagination of trap music. The young boys whom the world later came to know as Bushali or Bushido, B-Threy, Slum Drip, Producer Dr. Nganji and Dizo Last, produced the sound with an inspiration from Trap music, a genre characterised by complex hi-hat patterns, tuned kick drums with a long decay and lyrical content that often focuses on street life which was pioneered by the likes of Young Jeezy, T.I, Gucci Mane, DJ Screw to mention a few. In 2016, Dr. Nganji, founder of Green Ferry Music which is home to almost all the Kinyatrappers, created a trap inspired beat and Bushali freestyled lyrics over it and got released in 2017. Kinyarwanda being the national language and the language used in the lyrics of this genre, they dubbed it Kinyatrap, a name that almost all music lovers in the country are familiar with. “We wanted it to be that genre that one could hear and trace our origins. We made a fusion of Rwandan tradition sounds and modern sounds. That’s how Kinya Trap came to life,” Nganji recalls his first days in the making of Kinyatrap. The producer, who had already started making music at the age of 16 while in high school at St Joseph Kabgayi, became a household name after releasing Zombi, his first track that he produced alongside renowned rapper Bushali and the rest was history. The track was followed by a number of hits that introduced everyone to the genre, “by the time we released Nituebeu, everyone had already started asking about the new sound” Nganji said, adding that, “It was everywhere from the streets to bars and clubs of Kigali. The sound was faster than we thought, it was everywhere!” Dr. Nganji later produced more Kinyatrap bangers including Ipafu, Kugasima, Sindi Mubi and many others that appeared on Bushali’s maiden album dubbed ‘Kugasima’, which was released in 2019. The success of a sub trap genre in Rwanda opened the eyes of the young generation which had spent years making Hip hop, Afro, R&B and gave them a platform to grow their talents in a new style. Producer Dizo Last who went to the same high school with Dr. Nganji also started using the same beats, melodies, tempo and instruments in his production, a move that made him land on the making of some of the best Kinyatrap songs ever produced in Rwanda. Dizo’s decision to jump on Kinyatrap changed the whole game. He added a number of tracks like ‘Tsikizo’ and ‘250’ which made the genre rise to stardom. “Of course, I had to jump on it as a young producer who was making dope beats by then. The sound was getting to places and all the young ones were coming to the studio playing some of Bushido’s tracks saying that they want the same. It was then that it started stealing my attention,” Dizo said, explaining the reasons he jumped on the sub-genre. Dizo is also the leader of Ratio Music, a music label which is home to different merging artistes such as Angelo Jawanza and B-Threy, former member of Green Ferry Music who is also one of the pioneers of Kinyatrap. B-Threy, like many others, describes Kinyatrap as not only a genre but a movement of the young trappers and drillers which is playing a big role in the boosting of Rwandan music. In an interview with The New Times, B-Threy traced his friendship with Bushali, whom they co-pioneered the genre from 2017 when they met at Indiba studio as another reason behind the birth of the subgenre. “I remember we had organised a studio session with Nganji through my friend Willy Karekezi, and when we got to the studio Bushali was recording. I joined him and we made a track which later appeared in his first album,” said B-Threy. Since then, according to B-Threy, Kinyatrap came to life and later became a lifestyle for many young boys and girls making music in Rwanda. “It’s not just a style of music, it’s a lifestyle!” B-Threy said, adding that Kinyatrappers are different, from the dressing code to slang and language they use. Jean Paul Hagenimana, aka Bushali also came out with superstar energy straight out of the gate, delivering hit after hit and solidifying himself as a main pillar of the KinyaTrap movement. Now, with a few years under his belt, he keeps that same energy as he diversifies his sound. In his recent interview with The New Times, the Nituebue hit maker indicated that when he started producing the sub-genre, he was skeptical about where it would lead to because it was new to Rwandans. “It was a risk we took on our part and we are excited and grateful about how it turned out. Almost all the young ones are now making Kinyatrap,” he said. The birth of Kinyatrap gave a platform to many young musicians who also started making different genres including UK Drill, Afro-trap, Afro Pop and many others. Some Kinyatrap tracks that changed the game include Tsikizo produced by Dizo, Nituebue, 250, Kugasima, Gigi by B-They, Tujye Gusenga by High Vibes Gang and many others.
