My Views - From the Conversation I had with a Rwandan Artist Tania Rugamba.


This December, as I celebrated Christmas with friends, we came to a point where we started talking about Rwandan Artists. We played lots of songs and had to rate them, each one after another according to what we often look for in songs as we listen to them. I told my friends that I am always attracted by  'Stories' and ‘Thoughts’ within or behind songs before I proceed to admiring their melodies, how well instruments are played or even their visuals. Many call me an old soul because they usually find songs like ‘Ntacica nk’Irungu’ by the late Burundian Artist Canjo Hamisi’, Junior Rumaga’s poems and lots of Bill Ruzima’s songs on the top of my playlist. Relatable stories and thoughts are what I look for in every book I read, every person I look up to, in every movie I watch and the content I follow on all my socials. As I listen to those stories, I am often pushed to not just know the basics- I then try my best to follow the owners so that I may not miss a detail about their works. Thus, Tania’s songs speak volumes to me, she really outdoes herself to communicate about what she creates. 


I have for a long time been searching for resources to help me learn about my mother tongue ‘Kinyarwanda’. Often, Music- Songs are my best channels I use to easily improve my vocabulary, and it is in this way that I landed on Tania Rugamba’s first Album. I was very much impressed by her works- especially the choice of words in her songs. For some minutes, I asked myself how she could look that young and have such a rich vocabulary. Maybe it was also about the sequence of her words too. In our conversation, she mentioned that her Kinyarwanda vocabulary is nothing out of the norm. The articulation in her music is more of structured sentences than it is about words or vocabulary.


Her songs’ themes vary as the languages she uses also do. The diversity in what she sings  also comes to those she addresses when writing them. You can’t really tell who/ what she is specifically talking to/ about. In ‘Ningerayo’ you would think she was talking to God and yet she meant her friends. This song can be a prayer for believers or a humble request to friends too. While listening to ‘Umugenzi and Ntawe Musa’, I thought these songs were meant for a partner but my perspective changed when I read about both songs on her instagram page. To me, this shows how open and inclusive her songs are to everyone. 


I asked her about her late Grandfather Rugamba Cyprien who was a very talented Rwandan artist too, to understand in which ways their talents may be related. She said that she grows to better understand his works but that she is still an artist on her own. Fantastic- it is in very rare cases you will find such a self-driven artist. 


All this may not make sense to you until you visit her Youtube and watch her videos from ‘How It All Started’ to her recent EP, continue on her instagram to better grasp her sources of inspiration. I may be biased because of lack of information about other artists’ works but if I have to be honest, Tania is by far among a few artists who delivers what I am always looking for in songs. 


Let this be your reminder to be ‘Authentic’ as you share what has been entrusted in you. There is somebody looking for exactly what you think isn’t that useful and not on trend. Own what you create, that's the best way to beat what we usually call Competition. This conversation perfectly portrays the picture in which I see my podcast; a platform meant to bring such talents and inspirational stories to light. Tania authentically shared her story and I hope you will be able to learn from her truth as I did too.


Tania, next time you are asked what makes you feel proud, add that with time, you continue to meet people you are creating for.


References: 

  • https://linktr.ee/taniarugamba?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=e85f2169-fa03-4c7d-903a-aedf53bf65e8

  • Instagram Handle: taniarugamba

  • Podcast’s Link: https://anchor.fm/know-how9/episodes/Ep4-A-Conversation-with-Tania-on-Pursuing-Music-e1utg83

Comments

  1. Adeline18 February 2023 at 03:07

    This is a piece of art as well, good analysis and better advice all in 1.

    ReplyDelete

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