Over the last decade or so, African artistes have been at it trying to coin out their own genres based on their own cultures and background, but as years went by, it became more complicated to find an authentic Rwandan genre. While other African musicians are keen on embracing the diversity of their cultural heritage through music, most Rwandan artistes preferred to imitate their peers, some even adapting the famous Naija style. However, some artistes have taken it upon themselves to uphold the Rwandan culture—one of them being Jules Sentore, who is among young artistes to take the lead. His latest released single titled, ‘Agafoto’, a Kinyarwanda word for ‘picture’, portrays memories of an elderly couple, when they were younger and in love. “This is a love song. It talks about how courting in the Rwandan culture was conducted back in the day,” Sentore told The New Times, adding: “The lyrics are about a wife and husband in their old age, remembering some of the special romantic memories using a picture.” The song, released on January 24, was inspired by Michel Ngabo, a childhood friend of his grandfather, Athanase Sentore, one of Rwanda’s legendary musicians. They also happen to have written the song together. “He mostly contributed to the idea. He talked to us about love and a picture, and suggested that the song rotates around the picture. He is also an artiste, so we worked together on the writing.” The “Agafoto” project took Sentore and team around a year and a half to be done. The video features Inyamibwa, a traditional dance troupe.
