Charles Kakooza Nkuriza has been there and done it all as far as the local showbiz scene is concerned. Better known as KNC, his stage moniker, he has tried his talents in acting, comedy, music (singing and production), and media entrepreneurship, among others. As a musician, he will be launching Heart Desire, his fourth studio album on July 27, at Kigali Conference and Exhibition Village-Camp Kigali. And if preparations for the event are anything to go by, then it is likely that he will be attempting to pull off the biggest musical fete in the country this year. After that, it will be on to new creative horizons, as KNC revealed in an interview with The New Times yesterday. “I want to do this (album launch concert) before I change my direction artistically,” he said. To headline the highly billed concert is legendary South African music icon Yvonne Chaka Chaka, aka the Princess of Africa. With that calibre of musician for a headline act, KNC will perhaps not need to worry much about the turn up. Last week, organisers released the list of local musicians lined up for the show. They include, Bruce Melodie, gospel singer Israel Mbonyi, fast-rising jazz and soul songbird Alyn Sano, and the Neptunez Band. In January KNC revealed to The New Times that he was flying in Chaka Chaka for the album launch, a few days after securing the signature from her management team. Even though the concert was still six months away, KNC revealed that he and his backup band had already embarked on rehearsals. At that time, he had planned to hold two separate concerts, a regular one, and a VIP show at which Chaka Chaka would perform. However at the beginning of this month, he ditched the idea for two shows and settled instead for one, at Camp Kigali. “We chose to hold a single concert, at a central venue (Camp Kigali), which we found to be more convenient for all people who would want to attend the show,” KNC revealed in a telephone interview with The New Times yesterday. To his fans, KNC promises “a concert like no other, a story for generations to come, an event of the century”. “Chaka Chaka is ready to give her Rwandan fans what they expect from her, most especially her old generation of fans, but also the young generation who will be seeing her for the first time.” editorial@newtimes.co.rw
