Sema Solé is a Hip-Hop artist from Kigali, Rwanda, steadily carving out a name for himself in and beyond the underground rap scene. Known for his particularly introspective lyricism and storytelling, he uses music as a conduit for thematic explorations of identity and of the human experience. 

Drawing inspiration from both traditional Rwandan sounds and global influences, Sema Sole's work is a fusion of past and present, creating something distinct and relatable. His underground status allows him to experiment freely, carving a niche for himself in a scene that increasingly values artistic individuality. Whether through his introspective bars or mellow flow, Sema Sole offers listeners a raw, unfiltered perspective on life as a creative in Kigali. In conversation with TANGAZA, Sema Solé talks about his latest album, Kubayenga, sharing insights into his creative process and what fans can expect in the future. 

How would you describe yourself to anyone new to your artistry?

I’m a Rwanda based underground Hip-Hop artist exploring sounds and really hungry to discover a subgenre or even a different genre completely within Hip-Hop. I was born and raised in Rwanda and I live in Kigali.

 How did your musical journey begin and what are some key influences that shape your sound?

I started out writing poetry before making music. Whenever I consumed any literature, I was always fascinated by the different ways words could be used to paint certain pictures. Growing up, I listened to a lot of music. Music was almost inescapable. I come from a Christian household so we grew up going to church. I think my first attachment to music was just watching the choir at my church. I was very drawn to that music. But over time as I grew up and joined high school, I was introduced to the J-Coles and Jay-Zs. At the time, Watch The Throne had just come out, and then I got into Kendrick Lamar, who eventually became a very big influence. My friends put me on.

Fast-forward to 2015 and I started trying to make my own music. I'd written a few songs to some beats I found on YouTube. And there’s this place I used to go with my friends in Kigali. They weren’t really artists but just liked freestyling. And even if you weren’t freestyling, you’d just go to watch and listen. One time I was just drunk and decided to freestyle. I came prepared, I’d written something. I freestyled and people reacted a certain way. It was around that time that I decided to go to the studio and record my first song. I didn’t do any other song that year up until 2017, when I found myself in the studio again and recorded an EP under a different name, not Sema Solé. It was very rushed, I think I took it out on sound cloud. Sema Solé was born during Covid and primarily expresses himself in Kinyarwanda.

What is your creative process? Does it start with picking a beat or do you get the lyrics out first?

There are instances where I’m collaborating with someone and they’ve already selected a beat and want me to do a verse on it. If it’s something I really like, it will be almost instant. The beat directs the emotional direction of the pen; what I’m going to write about, the cadence, the tone. Everything is communicated through the beat, for me a t least. In cases where I don’t connect with the beat, it might be harder. In the past I’ve been like,’’ I’m not connecting to this, I don’t want to jump on it.’’ Now I’ve learned to be more open, but at the same time, not forcing something if it’s not really there. Usually the beat comes first. I’m very sensitive to sounds and what they mean, and what they’re asking me to add to them.

Your latest project is an album, KUBAYENGA. What inspired this project and what does it mean to you?

Kubayenga directly translates to ‘‘The Melting’’. It is a letter to those who are melting, changing, transitioning. This is me capturing what the last few months have felt like. It has been a transitional period for me. A lot of things are changing, or are about to change. There’s a lot of feelings that come with that. It’s not a very easy process. There are songs like Ukumbura, where I’m reflecting on nostalgia about the past, much more innocent days and simpler times. And then there’s Izi Ntashyo, which mourns people who are no longer here. I wanted to put Kubayenga out there as a letter to anyone who might relate to these feelings that accompany change, a letter to those transitioning.

Unlike your EP BURURU, there are collaborations on this project. How do you approach collaborations and what influenced your choice to include Yvette, Kimzer, Solene and Manzi Fleur in the last two tracks?

So for my first EP Bururu, I wanted to challenge myself. I wrote my first full song in Kinyarwanda, which was Kama, and afterwards was like, if I can do a full song in Kinyarwanda, why not try doing an entire project alone in Kinyarwanda. So it was me challenging myself, and I thought if I was going to have a feature, I’d be cheating and not honoring the challenge. So I did the full thing solo, just to prove to myself that I could do a full project in Kinyarwanda. With my last project Kubayenga, to feature anyone, we had to have a close relationship and they had to be very flexible. Because these are my songs, I might envision you delivering something and if you’re not able to, I need you to be willing to not take offense and try again. Manzi Fleur is one of my closest friends, not just a collaborator, and I had him do maybe three verses. On Cyane which features Yvette, I wrote the melody, the lyrics and was in the studio showing her how to execute it and she did perfectly. Solene did the spoken word, and bringing her on was Reddy’s idea. Reddy, another member of Mellow couch, was very helpful on the project.

Are there any personal stories or hidden details in your latest work that fans might not know about?

I’d say Izi Ntashyo. I’m basically talking to God and saying ‘’don’t leave our greetings behind.’’ Say hello to those who left us feeling lonely and missing them. This was very much influenced and inspired by my pops. I lost my dad a little over ten years ago. There’s moments when you’re like, ‘’ Damn! I wonder what he thinks. I wonder how things could have been’’ So the song is really about him, I don’t mention it directly, so my fans wouldn’t know. Then there’s another, probably my favorite song on the album, called Nyoza Ubutazandura. The title, an expression I repeat a lot, means ‘’ Cleanse me once and for all.” ’This is also me pleading with God. It’s a reflection, me remembering how I dealt with substance abuse and addiction for a good number of years. I’ve been on a journey of recovery and been clean for five years now. The song is me going back in time. There’s a moment where I was really desperate, where I thought I was stuck, where I thought I couldn’t get myself together and I was praying to God to cleanse me once and for all and that’s what I’m expressing in the song. It is very coded and not very contextualized, which is intentional, because I want it to be something anyone can relate to, the emotion of being in a desperate situation. I’m not just boxing it into addiction.

You are part of a creative collective, Mellow Couch. What inspired the creation of this collective?

We were making music and essentially collaborating with each other, and we felt like we shared the same vision. Musically, we wanted to bring something different to the Rwandan scene, something different. We shared similar perspectives and tastes. We are not a group that is singing together. Were individual artists but we decided to put this under one umbrella and brand ourselves under one collective. The vision is experimenting and pushing the boundaries of what music here can sound like.

What was the vision behind MellowFest, and how did it feel to organize and perform in the first edition?

The first edition was very rushed. Manzi Fleur is the one who had the vision for it. He always told us we should do something, a Mellow Fest. We’d done a few collaborative shows with other artists here and people would come and we'd get good numbers. We wanted to create something more structured and were inspired by Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival, Tyler the Creator’s music festival. We saw how those guys were moving and how they’ve grown into something big. We literally came up with the idea months before and then a week before the actual first edition, started planning then announced it. The three of us did a lot of the organizing. It was pretty successful. We had a good turnout of over 150 people. It was fun but obviously very rushed and our biggest takeaway was the encouragement that we could pull off something better if we sat down and planned well. That’s what we did with the recent 2nd edition.

What has been the most fulfilling part of your artistic journey so far?

The most fulfilling part has been running into people. It might be a random person and they’ll stop me and be like ‘’you’re doing an amazing job with your music. ’It’s really helping me get through. I think that these moments, and I've been blessed to have a number of them, are very fulfilling because as much as I do it for the love, I’m very passionate about it.

What do you do outside of music that feeds your creativity or lends you access to new perspectives and experiences?

So, I’m actually in finance. I work for a nonprofit and we do budgeting and financial planning and different financial analyses. That’s what I do day to day. It’s very, very disconnected from the creative side. I can’t do both at the same time. Once I’m in the zone with one of the two, I can’t focus on the other. It has introduced more structure in my life and made me organized. I can’t stop doing music but music is not necessarily paying me enough to do it full time. This career is doing that. And it’s also something I’m genuinely fascinated by, whether people believe it or not. I love the problem solving aspect and it sometimes comes in handy in the music space. I’ve also gotten into reading newspapers, which makes me sound like an old man. There’s something about getting a bunch of information from a single pamphlet that satisfies my hungry mind I guess.

What can your fans expect in future?

I’m working on a collaborative project with an artist here in Rwanda, it’s an EP. I’ll save their name for when the time is right. And they can expect even more music, even from that project from me in 2025. It’s going to be a very busy year. They have a lot to look forward to. And of course visuals as well. I’d love to do some visuals for Kubayenga.

Kubayenga out on all streaming platforms.