Musician Gael Faye on his plan to develop hip hop music

2015 was a “difficult year” for hip hop artiste Gael Faye after the breakup of Milk, Coffee & Sugar, the band he formed with French-Cameroonian, Edgar SugaSekloka, back in 2008. However, the 33-year-old French-Rwandan rapper who moved back home in September last year is bent on continuing with his career. Born in Burundi, Gael is currently working on his second album called Rhyme etBotanique which will be out in October this year. His first album or EP (Extended Play-list) PiliPili Sur Un Croissant Au Buerre features hits like Je Pars, Petit Pays and Metis. The songs concentrate a lot on identity, travel and love. Though he has performed locally alongside local artistes, the rapper is not one to try too hard to fit in with home listeners, unlike his counterparts. “I don’t calculate those things, I do my music naturally with my own freedom, and if people from Rwanda like it, then it’s great,” he said. Faye’s mission is to “create a space where people can discuss” around his gigs and concerts about issues “more important than the music itself.” Faye is also working on a novel that is to come out in September. The novel is set in 1992 and 1995 in Bujumbura and tells the story of a group of children who live in the rebirth of the Burundian war of 1990. The children are from Rwanda, Burundi and France. It focuses on how the political changes in Burundi, and also the instability in Rwanda before and during the Genocide, impacted the lives of the children. Gael thinks Rwandan hip hop is very much influenced by American rap music; it is “computer music”. “Musically it’s quite poor, it’s not very original, it’s like the instrumentals in Uganda and Kenya. South Africa has its own sound, they mix electronic beats with Kwaito, but in Rwanda we borrow a lot, it’s not very original,” he says. Inspite of the limited Kinyarwanda, he likes the flow, but quickly adds that flow is “not all there is” to a song. “There’s a gap between traditional music and contemporary music, we need to be more cross over, there’s a clear divide, and we need to make a continuity or interconnection,” the musician adds. Gael started by writing lyrics and poems on pieces of paper during his early school years that turned into rhymes. His career has seen him perform across the globe and despite settling in Rwanda, the musical tours will continue. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Musician Gael Faye on his plan to develop hip hop music