BY BAMUTURAKI MUSINGUZI
“THE music I play is hip-hop that is
Christian inspired and hinges on the message of salvation and the perspectives that
come with it,” says Edwin Ruyonga, Uganda’s leading hip-hop music and spoken
word artist.
“I went in for gospel rap because I'm born
again, Christ saved me and my music is an extension of who I am and my beliefs,”
the 31-year-old rapper adds.
Ruyonga told New African that he thinks he is passing on his gospel message to
the world: “I believe I am. I just try to come at it from the perspective of
being me and being as honest as possible in my music and praying God does the
rest, being an available and willing vessel basically.”
And to prove his point Ruyonga opened his
live concert dubbed ‘Glory Experience’ at Imperial Royale Hotel on August 6,
2015 by reciting John Chap. 4 verses 6 to 24 in the Bible.
According to him, the message in John Chap. 4
verses 6 to 24 is that God is calling for his children to relate with him from
a deep and true place. It's not about religion or social standing (The Jews and
Samarians did not mix, and there were a lot of preconceived and pre-designated
notions about the ‘only’ places one could worship God).
“The message is that the time is coming; it
is actually here where you can worship God at anytime from anywhere as long as
your heart, mind and spirit has set itself to focus on him,” he argues.
At the ‘Glory Experience’ concert Ruyonga accompanied
by four instrumentalists and three vocalists played his songs: Pesa,
Freedom, Inside My Heart, New Africa,
Glory Fire, Muhuliire, RRUU, Time Check and Crossfire, among others.
Joe Kahirimbanyi joined him on stage for Mwana Wange and Annet Nandujja on Empisa. Among the musicians that made
special appearances to show support to Ruyonga were Sitenda, Solome Basuuta and
Sam Kimera.
He held the second concert dubbed ‘Fire Army’
at Makerere University main ground on August 8.
According to Ruyonga, rap music that was initially
looked at as the “ghetto stuff” in the USA is an avenue for the disadvantaged.
“Rap was not as much about being ‘ghetto music’ as it has been an opportunity
for the disenfranchised to get their voice heard. And the disenfranchised or
feeling disenfranchised is a universal problem. As long as anyone feels unheard
or unconsidered, platforms like hip-hop will always be necessary,” he says.
Ruyonga observes that although African rap
artists aped American rap artists right from the dressing to the lyrical
content at the time the genre was taking root in Africa, they are now
localizing hip-hop.
“That’s where those African rap artists
learnt rap from, so it ‘must’ take time to evolve. Fela Kuti's sound is
originally James Brown's American sound, Lingala, Congolese music which reggae
itself is adapting from, all have foreign influences. Hip-hop in Africa is not
going through a new thing. If people stopped to notice and not criticize, many
African hip hoppers and rappers are indigenizing the African rap culture, but
everything is a process. And there will always be criticisms, for everything,”
he argues.
As to the importance of the spoken word in
his music Ruyonga, says: “Its importance
is that it is the root of rap; it's where rap came from. Spoken word, griots,
oral history, the old story-tellers, it’s all related.”
On the state of live music in Uganda today he
observes that: “Live music will always be important, everything has its moments
and sometimes things get overdone, but nothing will ever replace the live
interpretation of music, electronic or otherwise, because it is created on the
spot and cannot be duplicated.”
Ruyonga notes that gospel music is not competing
favourably with other genres in Uganda because it’s in its initial stages. “We
are still putting in the groundwork, we have the Michael Smiths, the Mali
Musics and the Lecraes, but this is all just the beginning. We will just have
to wait and see.”
Ruyonga was one of the pioneering hip-hop
acts in Uganda, with his first group winning a nationwide music competition in
2000.
He was picked by Rawkus Records as one of the
top 50 artists on the internet in 2007. Rawkus Records was responsible for
jumpstarting the careers of Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Common and Eminem.
Ruyonga, a gifted artist has gained respect
in the hip-hop community worldwide for his compelling, hard hitting socially
conscious, fresh and creative lyrics.
His powerful live shows consist of anywhere
from a single backing Dee Jay to a full live band with equally engaging
supporting acts.
According to Shirlene Alusa-Brown, “His
(Ruyonga) rapping style is great, and he manages to mix energetic beats into
his poetic rapping flow, to keep you on your feet and ready to make a
difference in the world.”
Ruyonga, who is also an emcee and graphic
artist and previously known as Krukid, was a member of the hip-hop trio A.R.M.
(African Rebel Movement/Artists Representing the Motherland) that also included
M.anifest (Ghana) and Budo. He was on DSTV's list in 2013 of African MC’s.
He lived in the United States from 2002 to
2012, sharing stages with many respected artists, including K’Naan, Mos Def,
Talib Kweli, The Roots, Wu Tang Clan, Lupe Fiasco and many others. He won the
Chicago Urban League Mic Check Contest’s Best Emcee Award and the C-U Local
Music Award’s Best Hip Hop/R&B act multiple times.
He has so far released five albums: Rising in the Sun (2005); AFRiCAN (2007); S.O.S. (2011); Victory Music
(2013); and Glory Fire (2015).
Ruyonga has collaborated with many renowned
artists including Brother Ali and Slug from Rhymesayers; M.anifest; Magg
44; Enygma; Benezeri; Big Tril; Maurice Kirya; Don MC; Somi; and Tumi
of Tumi and The Volume.
He is married to Sheila and they blessed with
one daughter.
Ends.
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