Focus Media (Kigali)
Timothy Kisambira
23 May 2009
interview
"Video clips help a lot to bring out the message of a song, because people are not only listening to the music, but they are also attracted to the song by the images," says Miss Jojo, which is why she is currently working on no less than four music videos from her latest 14-song album Genesis. So we might expect soon to see the singer on television performing Inshuti, Danger de mort, Guhimakazi, and her current hit Beritirida, which she says is about a Rwandan girl who is styled up and believes in the new generation.
That sounds very much like Jojo's own story, as she has always loved music and is now realizing her dream of making it big.
"I have always been passionate about music," the diva says. "I started to experiment with songwriting when I was still young, and although those first songs weren't any good, it made me realize that not everybody has musical talent. So that made me decide to follow my heart and develop my talent."
It didn't prevent Miss Jojo from pursuing her education, and in 2007 she obtained a university degree in literature. For now, however, she is focused on her music, and she thinks the environment is getting better for professional artists.
"I think the music industry in this country is growing," she remarks. "It's like a new-born baby: it takes a long time before it can walk, and to get there it goes through various phases. It is the same with the music industry here, and I am sure that one day we shall get there. Just look at some of the countries in the region that have produced successful artists; they too have started small, and it took them some good years to mature. So slowly we shall get there."
One important step in that direction, the songwriter thinks, is to get better producers, who according to her are lacking because there is still not enough investment in the industry.
"You know, music is all about money-if you have money then you can have good studios with professional equipment, and you will be able to produce quality stuff," Jojo says.
Not always perfect
Another aspect of that growing process is the fact that there are still lots of musicians bringing out senseless songs without any message. Yet Miss Jojo doesn't care, because she reasons that such artists still have a lot of room to grow, and will improve over time.
The fans, too, have their role to play in the evolution of music in the country. And she has some unexpected advice for them: they should become more critical.
"You see, the fans will never criticize you; they will always tell you what you want to hear," Miss Jojo explains. So you can do something which is not good at all, but still they praise you. That, I think, is pretty bad."
And she has a good reason for that unusual attitude. "I love criticism, because it helps me perfect my work," she points out. "I don't think that everything I do in my career is the best, so people should learn to criticize us so that we can correct ourselves and become better."
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