Artists To Watch: Sema Sole

Sema Sole is an enigmatic emcee from Kigali, Rwanda. His lyrical style is somber yet punchy, typically rapping over stripped back post-trap instrumentals. Like most other hip-hoppers in the country, he raps almost exclusively in the national tongue of Kinyarwanda, but with a level of intention that sets him apart from his contemporaries. 

This especially shines through on his debut EP Bururu, which was released earlier this summer. Bururu, which translates to “blue,” is a 5 song introspection on depression and its many phases, centering the story of a wealthy but unfulfilled man who loses everything. 

Even without understanding the tongue, the tone of the project is very clearly articulated, even through to the cover which shows our naked protagonist bleeding money as he walks through a shadowy blue environment. Sema’s husky voice is the perfect vessel for the album’s weighty themes and the production has roomy enough to fit his mouthfuls of verses. 

We caught up with Sema to learn more about how the world around his music came to be. 

1. Who is Sema Sole? What is the story or meaning behind your name?

My boy Manzi and I were talking one day, and I was telling him how I didn’t want to use my real name in my music or the old name I used when I first started rapping back in 2015, the now cringeworthy “DK-47” which was actually coined by Manzi as well. I told him I was thinking of using “sema”, which means “speak” in Swahili. His eyes lit up, then he said “what about Sema Sole?” I anticipated that people would think there’s a special meaning behind it but it’s really just the sound of it that had me sold. Plus, the name feels like a blank canvas that isn’t creatively limiting.

2. When did you start making music? How has your journey been thus far?

I recorded my first song in 2015. It was honestly good for a first song, the recording process was strenuous but I was fueled by a lot of excitement. As hip-hop enthusiasts at the time, the aforementioned Manzi had just started rapping and kept encouraging me to try it out too.

I took a small hiatus and decided to take a pause on music to reconcile feelings of self-doubt. In between that period, I took a back-seat from a musician to a student, religiously consuming and internalising music at every opportunity. By doing so, I not only developed an appreciation for other experimental genres like soul, jazz, blues, and rock but I was actively sharpening my craft.

During that first quarantine I reconnected with Manzi, who had taken a break from rapping too but for different reasons. He is the one person that has believed in my art even when I didn’t believe in it myself. I was writing verses to beats and recording them on my phone. A couple of sessions  later, I released my first song, “Ignis”, as Sema Sole featuring my dear friend and one of my favorite acts in the Kigali hip hop scene Mazimpaka Prime, which received an overwhelming amount of positive reception. I also recently reconnected with my boy Reddy last summer who’s a producer. Manzi, Reddy and I decided to form a group/collective type thing we called “Mellow Couch”. Our vision for Mellow Couch is to encompass everything we wish to see in the music scene right now. It’s very much in the nascent stages but I’m pleased to watch our vision take shape. 

3. You seem to be very intentional with the world that you build around your music, particularly with the cover art direction and beat selection. Can you share with us your creative process?

My creative process is usually kicked off by finding the right beat. Beat selection is very key because the beat dictates the direction I’ll take with the lyrical content; the vocal tone, the cadence etc. My criteria is simple. If a beat doesn’t provoke me or excite me upon first listen then it isn’t the right one. Period. This doesn’t happen often so I happen to be very picky with beats.

Intention is my compass. Even though I am more fluent in English than Kinyarwanda, when I first worked on Kama, I challenged myself to compose the entirety of the song in Kinyarwanda. After Kama’s release, the reception was so positive, it inspired me to execute the EP by singing in Kinyarwanda. At the time, I didn’t know where this concept would lead me but intention is a journey not a destination. I eventually partnered with Credo Hope, the designer who showed me a catalogue of art she’d been working on and the EP cover spoke to me right away. I gave her a special request to ensure there was money flying from the muse’s back which I felt made the EP cover visually cohesive.

4. The EP has no features. Was this also intentional?

I chose to go solo on the EP because I wanted to fully explore my artistic range and to just have my space. I feel like the EP is also pretty personal so I felt like no other voice beyond mine was necessary in the relaying of my inner feelings.

5. What artists have been most influential on your sound?

The first artists that come to mind are Kendrick Lamar, Tyler, the creator, Kanye West, Andre 3000, Nirvana, The Beatles, Earl Sweatshirt and Billie Eilish. My sound has also been heavily impacted by Kamaliza, Cecile Kayirebwa, Teta Diana, Nkurunziza Francois, Gatikabisi aka Don Nova, Bushali and B-Threy. While I'm constantly inspired by local artists, expanding my influences beyond my native culture was the necessary link between cementing my roots and evolving my sound.

6. Can we expect a video soon?

Definitely! I shot a video for Vutu. I hope to drop it soon. Admittedly, I’ve felt some anxiety because I’m not sure what the reception will be like. This would be my first encounter dabbling with visuals and the process is a huge leap out of my comfort zone. Most importantly, I just want people to enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making the song.

6. What inspired the creation of Bururu?

“Bururu'' is the word for the color blue in Kinyarwanda. The EP is essentially capturing the changing dispositions of an individual going through the different phases of depression. The forgetfulness of a temporary high that runs from “yota” to the sudden end of the music in “bwije” seeing them soberingly back in their blues in iBururu. I use the metaphor of wealth and poverty to convey this. The man starts off in ‘Yota’ (which loosely translates to “as they sun bathe” which is known to be a morning activity) talking about how self made he is and how sheer willpower and self determinism are what got him the wealth he has now. It sounds like he has just come out of poverty (it’s in the morning, just after the dark) so in his attitude there’s still elements of acceptance of how painful poverty can be just as the memory of the night is still fresh. He continues this flaunting in Kama which is the kinyarwanda word for “Milking”. Cows in Rwandan culture are a symbol of wealth. However from his tone he sounds more comfortable and confident in his wealth and well being and more convinced that his success is his own doing and that he got himself out of his past misfortunes. In “Vutu”, which is the Kinyarwanda word for “the Itis”, comes in as the climax of this well-being, thus the high energy of the track and high levels of confidence in the delivery and even more braggadocios with the lyrics. The wellbeing and high continues briefly in the following track before the abrupt ending of the music following the two voices at the end of the interlude that reveal to us that it’s nighttime already. They sound surprised by how quickly night has fallen, the word “Bwije” translates to “it’s nighttime”. This leads to the last track “iBururu” which translates “at the blues”..our character now finds himself poor and begging, lamenting at how he has tried everything in life with no luck and how life has become meaningless. Sharply contrasting his attitude with that in the earlier tracks. The cover art mashes the metaphor with the main theme of depression as can be seen by the way money is flying out of the back of our character as he finds himself stupefied with shock in this blue realm nearly naked.

I have dealt with depression in the past and in the EP I capture the different attitudes I’d have in the different phases of my blues. In the temporary highs I’d forget about how bad the lows were until I was thrown back in the pits. It’s really a call to not let your circumstance sway your attitudes towards life as much as it’s easier than done.

8. Tell me about the decision to rap exclusively in Kinyarwanda? You once mentioned that you tried your hand at rapping English but found that it was more natural for you to flow in Kinyarwanda.

The dilemma is that I am far more fluent in English, but I prefer everything about how I sound in Kinyarwanda. I’ll write a really good verse in English in a very short period of time, but then I’ll end up taking multiple takes while recording it because I hate how I’m pronouncing certain words. And I usually just end up settling after a million takes without actually feeling satisfied. I think this is because my accent is very different from that of the rappers I grew up listening to, I end up listening to myself and thinking it’s wack. 

With Kinyarwanda, I’ll take more time writing a verse and do a single take when I do record it. I would have never thought I’d be able to rap exclusively in Kinyarwanda until I tried it. I still have insecurities about my fluency. I hear a lot of my Kinyarwanda contemporaries using words and expressions I didn’t even know existed. It has been satisfying seeing people that don’t know the language connecting to my songs. I thought I would be losing an audience but people still connect. 

9. What is it like making music in Rwanda? What is the creative scene like over there?

It’s a very exciting time to make music here in Rwanda. Hip hop in particular has seen a lot of growth from the very monotonous old school/hardcore hip hop that was the dominant sound for years to the addition of more variety. There’s been an emergence and embrace of other alternative sounds and our artist’s fanbase is growing through the region too. It’s exciting to see what the near future holds.

10. What is next for you?

I am still working on music. The very positive feedback from this EP has pushed me to keep working even more. I’ll continue sharing music via singles and collaborations with Mellow Couch and other artists too. I am working on my debut Album. I’m trying to take my time with it as I am trying to challenge myself even more. Hopefully I’ll be able to share it before the end of next year.