By Eugenie MUHORAKEYE
Beliefs that the genre of rap is only for secular music are not new.
Many people doing rap music have been facing a number of challenges in regard to being accepted by some audiences, or being given support in pursuing their career.
Rwandan female rapper Clarrise Uwineza, aka the Pink, is one of those that have known the hardship facing gospel rappers in the country.
Her story includes experiences like being denied chance to perform, and this might have discouraged her from going on, but she didn’t.
“I remember two times when I was denied platform to perform. It happened at school, and at a certain church where I had been invited to perform,” she recalls.
Despite this, she did not throw-in the towel. She, went on to make a couple of rap songs, and has also put in effort to show society that any genre can be used to spread good news.
She started her music in 2007, collaborating with Gaby Kamanzi on “Ikiganza cy’Uwiteka,” a song that she says opened doors to her music.
To date, she has several songs to her name, including “Thank you,” and “Love me.”
She says her dream is not to make rap music famous, but rather to use it as a toll to spread good news.
Recently, she teamed up with several gospel rap artistes like Bright Patrick, Bulldog, NPC, Ga- Yell, and Jejeh Uomo Fuoco for a cypher.
A cypher or cipher is an informal gathering of rappers in a circle, in order to jam musically together.
Uwineza says that she now has got some fans, and there are more doors opening to her, for example musicians from some nations outside Rwanda call her to feature in their songs.
She advises upcoming artists not to enter music with expectations of trending, but rather with persistence and hardworking for God which leads to success.
