As curtains fall on the year 2014, it is time to look back and remember the songs that topped the charts this year.
Like
2013, it has been yet another great year for Rwandan music. The New
Times conducted a mini-survey to find out which songs got people on
their feet whenever played and got many people singing.
We
looked at songs that dominated radio playlists throughout the year as
well as songs that were watched more than others on Youtube. We also
talked to radio personalities and DJ’s as well as random people on the
streets to know which songs they enjoyed listening to this year
While
there is no song for example that matched last year’s club banger ‘Fata
fata’ by DJ Zizou, Rwandan artistes churned out a number of songs that
were loved not only on radio stations and TV’s but also in clubs and
online.
As
observed by 98.7 KFM presenter MC Tino (real names Martin Kasirye),
there were a lot of good songs this year but those released towards the
end of the year, particularly in November and December tend to get more
air play because they are released at the time when the festive mood has
set in.
“There
is a high chance that if you release a danceable track let’s say in
November, by the time the festive season and the parties come in, it
will still be fresh in the minds of the people compared to one which was
released in March,” says Tino, who is also a member of boy group TBB.
Such
songs include ‘Nibisanzwe’ by King James and ‘Ni Danger’ by Danny Vumbi
whose videos premiered in November. ‘Tulia’ by Knowless which also has
an exceptional video is among the songs which have ended the year on a
high.
According
to DJ Anita Pendo, to determine which songs dominated 2014, one has to
look at how often these songs were requested on radio and TV stations as
well as in clubs.
“You
will definitely know that a song is a hit when callers keep asking for
the same song or when you are playing at a club, or attending concerts
and revellers keep asking for the song to be played,” says Pendo, who is
also a presenter at Magic FM.
Some
of the people interviewed said that they related or liked certain songs
for the message contained. Among those cited by fans is ‘Nyabarongo’ by
Ama G de Black and Safi Madiba of Urban Boys.
The
song relates to many because most people will have to cross River
Nyabarongo at some point as they head out to Kigali. ‘Ni Danger’ by
Danny Vumbi is also identified among the songs packaged with message.
The song is about the youth who have abandoned their culture and
language particularly by lacing Kinyarwanda language with slangs.
Other
factors that determined how songs faired was the quality of video with
those shot outside Rwanda, such as King James’s ‘Ntibisanzwe’ shot in
the US and ‘Tulia’ by Knowless shot in Kenya easily finding their way to
the top.
This
year there were many joint collabos which made it to the top of the
charts including ‘Nikonabaye’, yet another hit from DJ Zizou of ‘Fata
fata’ fame, ‘Byakuvuna’ by Kina Music affair and‘Rendezvous’ by Oda
Paccy among others.
There
were also collabos made between Rwandan artistes and other African
artistes which also made the cut. These included ‘Tayari’ by Urban Boys
featuring Iyanya and ‘Hallo’ by Bruce Melodie and Fille among others.
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