Rwanda’s traditional music has yet again gained another talent in rising female singer and poet Noella. Her career in traditional music continues to take shape, given her recent releases, including her brand-new song ‘Ikirutibindi’ that she dropped last month. The song is about lovers who share romance despite living an ordinary life. Izere told The New Times that she released the song to spread the message to lovers that, with love, people can live happily and achieve whatever they dream of. “The greatest thing we have is love. In my song I talk about the romance between lovers because I wanted to remind people that love is not about wealth because I believe that, whether you are rich or poor, you can love each other,” she said. Ikirutibindi is Izere’s third song since she started doing music professionally this year. Other songs include Icyo Uzaba and Ibyisi both of which were released in May and July, respectively. Izere has been a poet for as long as she can remember. At the age of nine she was already performing at different events. Music runs in her blood as her sister, Liza Kamikazi is also a renowned artiste. Her interest in doing music however, came about when she was in high school although it took her years to finally pursue it professionally, on the advice of her parents. “I would have started my music career earlier but my parents couldn’t allow me to do anything other than focus on studies. Now that I’m grown up, I have my parents’ full support and no longer worry about my studies because they now believe that I’ve become responsible. To see my parents supporting me in my music is a blessing to me, it gives me the courage to do even better,” she said. The singer added she no longer wants to rely on performing other singer’s traditional songs yet she can use her talent to compose her own songs. “The industry still needs to see more new faces, especially females, doing traditional music and I am confident that through my music, I can contribute to the development of this genre,” she said. In just five months, Izere already has three songs to her name as she targets to release more songs and win the hearts of traditional music enthusiasts in Rwanda and beyond. Her genre, she says leans towards Gakondo and Afro-fusion and is a long-time admirer of music legends Kamariza and Cecile Kayirebwa, “People have admired the music of our elders and music icons like Kamariza, Kayirebwa and other musicians who most of us, young artists, always take inspiration from because they have made this genre proud. But I also want to leave my own legacy in this music and build my identity. I want to be remembered as having contributed to the development of Rwanda’s traditional music,” she said. Born in Huye District, Southern Province, Izere is the last-born in a family of five. She is now a Public Health graduate at Mount Kenya University and is doing Masters’ in Public Health.
