Come September 28, it will be the best of Rwandan cultural music paired with Naija pop sounds as the Kigali Jazz Junction returns. To headline this edition is Belgium-based Rwandan cultural music icon Jean-Marie Muyango, alongside Nigerian pop sensation Aituaje Iruobe, better known by her stage name, Waje. Muyango is a trailblazer in the Rwandan cultural music scene, up there in the same league of pioneers as Cecile Kayirebwa and Kamaliza, while Waje is a more youthful pop music brand from Nigeria, better known for her triple octave vocal range. Waje is a judge and celebrity vocal coach on the popular Voice of Naija televised music talent show. However she is best known for her role as the female voice in Nigerian duo P-Square’s 2008 hit, ‘Do me’. More recently, she is known for hits like, ‘Coco baby’ featuring Tanzania’s Diamond Platnumz, ‘Onye’, featuring Tiwa Savage, ‘Left for good’ featuring Patoranking, and ‘I’m available’, featuring Yemi Alade, among a string of collaborations. For his part, Muyango is credited as one of the pioneers of Gakondo (Rwandan cultural music). He is known for such songs as, ‘Sabizeze’, ‘Inkumburwa’, ‘Utari gito’, Karame na none, ‘Urabaramutse’, ‘Inganzo’ and ‘Inyundo’, among others. According to Remmy Lubega of RG Consult, organizers of the Kigali Jazz Junction, Muyango is currently in the country, on a government project to train and equip locals in cultural music. More specifically, he is offering the training to the National ballet, Urukerereza. “He is a legend when it comes to the Gakondo and cultural music genres in Rwanda, and at Kigali Jazz Junction we want to celebrate this diversity,” Lubega noted, adding that this will be the best opportunity for cultural music enthusiasts to watch one of the country’s best on a live stage. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
