RAP IN KIGALI
The "Rap in Kigali" series takes you on a journey through Kigali’s rap scene and the city itself. From Kigali’s streets, to portraits of the artists who keep this music alive, in all its diversity.
Nikita Heaven
Rwandan rapper and neo-soul singer Nikita Heaven. As a multi-disciplinary artist she easily switches from R&B, AfroBeat to Trap.
Kivumbi King
Although he wears the title of King, the young rising star can be seen as the rap prince of Kigali. Kivumbi has the power to go toe-to-toe with the likes of WizKid with his smooth voice, sense of melody, and trap flows.
Bushali
Arguably one of the founding forces of the genre, can be described as the « King of Kinyatrap. »
Angell Mutoni
Angell Mutoni is a poet, rapper, and singer-songwriter. Her eclectic music taste allows her the freedom to be musically experimental, and she often chooses to branch out into other genres such as Soul and R&B.
Longtime Rwandan rap figure Kenny K-Shot having a haircut at the renown barber "Kalinda" that does the haircuts of all stars of the rapscene.
Famous rapper Sogokuru hanging out with some young kids of the neighborhood that do local businesses to be able to produce their own music and become a rapper like him.
Dr. Nganji, producer of the label Greenferry that provides most of the trap beats, eating an egg on the streets in Kigali.
The Rwandan-Burundian rapper Sogokuru gets his main inspiration for his rhymes of the stories of the people he hears on the streets.
B-Threy
One of the founders of kinyatrap, a national phenomenon blending Atlanta’s 808s with the poetic texture of Kinyarwanda. Together with Bushali and Slum Drip they created the first waves in the mouvement the trap scene of Kigali.
DOCUMENTARY
"B-Threy, Scars and Dreams in Kigali"
Explore the turbulent sound of Kigali's post genocide generation with one of the founders of kinyatrap
Directed by Michiel Robberecht
Article by Pan African Music
LINK
PHOTOGRAPHER
michiel robberecht
"Kinyatrap, with its uncut sounds and unbridled expression, seemed to clash with the orderly calm and hushed silence that usually covers the city of Kigali. I was keen to explore the emergence of this musical movement which, in this controlled environment, serves as an outlet for youth.”
BIO
Photographer and film director Michiel Robberecht lives in Kigali, Rwanda, after spending a number of years living and working between Brussels, Kinshasa and Addis Ababa. After having won several awards with his short films, he is working now on a television series. Michiel’s films and photography are characterised by a magical universe wherein time, people and the places he gets to know along the way turn into fictional entities.