As Rwanda awaits the ‘Oldies Music Festival’, an event that will bring memories of the 80s, 90s and early 2000 music played around the world, we have put together some of the best Rwandan old jams that are still played to this day. ‘Tukabyine’ - Miss Jojo ft. Rafiki In 2006, singer Josiane Uwineza, popularly known as Miss Jojo, alongside the pioneer of Cogastyle, Rafiki, hit Rwanda’s music industry with the release of ‘Takabyine’, and the rest became history. ‘Tukubyine’ was produced in dancehall style by JP, one of the best music producers that Rwanda ever had, and directed by Meddy Saleh who is still in the video production game. The release of a classic like ‘Tukabyine’ which is still played in pubs and clubs of Kigali was followed by the release of Miss Jojo’s maiden album ‘Genesis’ which made her a household name in East Africa. ‘Ndarota’ - Miss Shanel At the end of 2008, Ruth Nirere best known as Shanel released ‘Ndarota’, a zouk style love track that went on to become a hit in Rwanda and beyond, making her a force to reckon with in the region. ‘Ndarota’ which is a slow zouk song was produced by Pastor P, one of the best producers who contributed to the rise of Rwandan music through his studio, Narrow Road Production. The classic song can be streamed on different online platforms such as YouTube. ‘Amaganya’ - Tuff Gang With the help of producer Lick Lick, Tuff Gang Crew made up of renowned rappers like Jay Polly, Fireman, Bull Dog Green P and P Fla, introduced street hip-hop to Rwanda and ‘Amaganya’ is one of the tracks that ensured their breakthrough. The song started trending again last year after the passing of one of the founders of the group, Jay Polly. ‘Rutenderi’ - Riderman In 2008, Riderman released his second solo track ‘Rutenderi’ and it immediately won the attention and admiration of many. By that time, his music was selling like hot cake. His first album was also named after the song due to how it was trending in Kigali. Riderman and his studio ‘Ibisumizi’ are credited to be one of the boosts of the hip-hop genre in Rwanda. ‘Kubaka Izina’ - MC Mahoni Boni In 1999, Mc Mahoni Boni blessed Rwandan music with a number of hip-hop tunes and one of his early releases that became a hit is ‘Kubaka Izina’. The single track is produced in the old style of hip-hop that big musicians like 50 Cent were making back in the day. ‘Kubaka Izina’ is still one of the best rap songs ever produced in Rwanda. ‘Contre Success’ - DR Claude ‘Contre Success’ is one of the biggest tunes produced by the famous DR Claude who introduced afro-beat music to Rwandans. ‘Contre Success’ was produced by Nice Sound studio in 2007. It is one of the reasons behind the boosting of DR Claude in East Africa. ‘Contre Success’ is still played in clubs of Kigali and Bujumbura up to date. ‘Ungirire Ubuntu’ - Meddy Medal Ngabo aka Meddy came to the spotlight in 2007 after releasing his wonder-hit ‘Ungirire Ubuntu’ and since then, the R&B star is still at the top of Rwanda’s music industry. ‘Ungirire Ubuntu’ is a slow R&B song produced by Nicolas in 2009 and directed by Bagenzi Bernard.
