In East Africa, the conversation around music often centers on the Tanzanian and Kenyan scenes where the entertainment industry is more developed as compared to their regional counterparts. Stars like Diamond Platnumz, Sauti Sol, and Vanessa Mdee can be heard on mainstream radio throughout the continent and enjoy increasing global exposure through the internet. But there is still a vast pool of oft overlooked talent from the region’s younger music scenes that deserves to be seen and heard. As Burundi and Rwanda celebrate their 58th year of sovereignty, Tangaza highlights 7 artists currently making waves in the twin nations. 

ALVIN SMITH (BI)

Bujumbura’s resident cool kid. Since going locally viral for his 2018 remix of Childish Gambino’s This is America, (This is Burundi), this young rapper and comedian has maintained notoriety for his high-octane raps that effortlessly switch between Swahili, Kirundi, and French.

ANGEL MUTONI (RW)

Angell Mutoni is a Kigali based poet, singer, and rapper that uses her art to expand the possibility of Rwandese womanhood and artistic expression. She is an outlier in her scene as a hip-hop and RnB artist who performs mostly in English and typically exceeds romantic and lustful lyrical tropes that are expected of femme artists. She is the co-founder of Eclectic Nappy Heads Collective; a project that aims to create more spaces for female artistic voices in the nation by hosting events and partnering with secondary schools to lead writing workshops. 

B-THREY (RW

B-Threy is one of the pioneers of Kinyatrap: a distinctly Rwandan take on the trap subgenre typically sung in Kinyarwanda. He is among the first signees of Green Ferry Music; a collective of young artists like Bashali, Slum Drip, and Dr Nganji that are charting a bold new course for Kigali’s hip-hop scene, fusing western rap aesthetics with local influences across music, fashion, and live events. 

BUSHALI (RW)

Another Green Ferry export, Bushali is the de facto leader of the Kinyatrap movement. He first gained notoriety after featuring on Green Ferry founder Dr Ngaji’s 2017 song Zombi, and has been on an upward trajectory ever since. In 2019, at the height of his career, he and labelmate Slum Drip were derailed by a month long jail-bid on drug abuse charges. Considering Rwanda’s conservative cultural climate, fans feared the situation would jeopardize his career. He rebounded immediately, however, and hasn’t looked back. He pulled off a packed homecoming show in January and is currently riding the wave of his newly released !B!HE B!7 album which features collabs from Senegal’s Daara J Family and Ghana’s Magnom

CHANY QUEEN (BI)

Chany Queen is a promising voice in Burundi’s scene. Having only a handful of released to her name in just over 2 years, she has displayed consistent growth with each one. She sings a imx od Kirundi and kiswahili over beats that fuse fall between reggae, dancehall, and afrobeat. 

RIDERMAN

Riderman is a veteran in the Rwandan hip-hop game. The 33 year-old rapper producer has eight albums under his belt, released under his Ibisumizi and has performed alongside international giants like Ms. Lauryn Hill, Kofi Olomide, Sean Paul, and Sean Kingston, to name a few. Younger artists rever him as the ‘Godfather’ of Rwandan hip-hop as the first rapper to gain garner national acclaim and accolades for the craft back in the mid 2000s. Since then, he has helped groom and promote younger talent in the nation like Ama G the black, Queen Cha, and Social Mula through his label and concerts.