Kinyatrap might be a new genre on Rwanda’s music scene, but a growing number of music fans are embracing the rhythm. At Zeal of the Gospel Church in Nyamirambo, a suburb of Kigali, in a recent Sunday service — Eric Munyemana, the church’s senior pastor, raised a microphone in exaltation. “Whoever is close to Bushali, please tell him that there is a pastor who likes him so much. Peace to him! May he keep rising as a singer, and may all our artistes keep shining in Jesus’ name,” he said, before belting out a few lines of the singer’s popular “Ni tuebue” track. This prompted the very enthusiastic congregation that was mainly composed of teenagers to join in—and started chanting the song’s popular chorus: “Ese ni muebue, ni tuebue?” Kinyatrap is the local version of trap music invented by rapper Jean-Paul Hagenimana, aka Bushali Trigger together with his group. The fast-rising rapper is famed for his hits like “Ni tuebue”, “Ku gasima”, “Sindi mubi”, “Kinyarock”, “Inganjyi”, and “Bitinze”. The pastor went on to encourage the church’s choir, Voice of Life, to adopt the genre, saying: “This is 2020, we need to be modern and creative when composing praise and worship songs to be able to attract more people to God,” he added. Actions like these are indications that Kinyatrap is gaining fame in the country.
