Focus Media (Kigali)
4 November 2009
2009 is going to be the year of coming of age for Rwanda's music industry, says Dr. Davis, and he's going to ride with the tide.
When Afro-beat musician Dr. Davis brought out his song Kigali ni nziza ariko cyane cyane Remera ("Kigali is great, but Remera is even better"), it became an instant hit. It even earned him the nickname "Remera," and he feels honored. "I love Remera; I composed the song after walking around the area several times and observing its beauty."
What is more, Davis says, Remera is Kigali's gateway; before anything reaches the city, it has to pass through Remera. "In fact, by the time news reaches Kigali city, it's history in Remera."
The song's success was a big reward, but also made him determined to stay in the spotlight. And now he is ready to launch his first album. "This is going to rock Kigali, be sure" a confident Dr. Davis says.
Fame did not come easy to him. The youngest in a family of seven children, he started dreaming of a career in music early on; his mother, however, strongly opposed. At the age of 12, he left the family home in Kenya and started drifting, eventually arriving in Kampala where he spent his days learning the songs and dance strokes of his idols, and his nights trying to get close to them in the city's clubs. His biggest idol was the self-styled "Ugandan ghetto President, His Excellency" Bobi Wine.
Ten years ago Davis came back to his home country, still determined to make a career in music. "I've tried my hands at so many things, but they didn't give me satisfaction; I still wasn't happy because I was not succeeding in the one thing I love most."
What made the experience especially sour was the fact that many of the colleagues with whom he started back in 2004 - Rafiki, KGB, Dr. Claude, the Ben - were making it big. "I never had enough capital to start my career like some of my colleagues. Until recently, nobody wanted to promote Rwandan music, so it was a quite a struggle," Davis says.
Today, however, a wind of change is blowing; the country's music is getting known all over the region, and promoters are getting interested. And with his brand new album being released soon, Dr. Davis hopes that his music career is finally launched.
The eight-track album is titled Turwanye Ihohoterwa Rikorerwa Abaana, meaning "Let's fight child abuse." It's a phrase from the song Sugar Daddy, Sugar Mummy, in which he calls on older men and women to stop luring young kids into sex for material things.
"I have respect for culture, but above all I love children," Davis explains. "I despise adults who indulge in such behavior; it is shameful and unbecoming in our culture."
Here, the ever-smiling singer gets dead serious - as much as he likes music, he thinks it makes sense only when it has a message. "It's a pity that I have never had a concert, but when I finally get one I will make the most of it. I want the young kids to learn something from me, and prove wrong those who think of me as flippant."
His emphasis on getting through to the kids is no coincidence - himself a father of an eight-year-old girl, he connects easily with them, and they in turn love him. It also makes him very concerned about orphans, and he hopes that one day he will be able to help some of them. "I love children," Dr. Davis says. "So I would like to give a home to some orphans; they long to sleep in a comfortable bed, they long to eat real food - and they certainly long to be loved."
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 Focus Media. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
