Makanyaga Abdul- 'Suzana'

Makanyaga Abdul is a very well known by both young and old in Rwanda. He was born in 1947 in the Huye District. He started his singing career at age 20. He played a pivotal role in the evolution of Rwandan music. He combines traditional music with jazz and blues. He has played in many bands over his lifetime and his first band was called Rita Jazz. His influence extends far beyond music and he has nurtured many young artists. He recently celebrated his 50 year career in music on 4 July 2023, a true icon of Rwandan music.

He wrote all the songs we heard today. His son, Fataki Hamdan, Mak Junior, joined him in the performances.

The entire band we saw today consists of:

Makanyaga Abdul – singer and guitar
Fataki Hamdan, Makanyaga Jr – singer
Wenga Abdul Karim – singer and percussion
Tabana David – guitar
Nizeyimana Abed – guitar
Akimana Methoucela – percussion
Ngarukiyintwali Jean de Dieu – singer
Lutagengwa Francoise – singer and dancer

Songs we heard today:
Urukundo rurambuye – meaning Endless Love, a love song
Garuka Susanna – meaning Come back Susanna, also a love song about a lost love, Susanna.
Gikundiro – meaning Someone Loved
Hashize Iminsi – about lost love. It’s been a long time looking for and waiting for my love but never seeing her.
Ngwino Mukunzi – meaning Come my Love
Nagera Muri Bari – meaning When I get to the Bar
Rubanda – means People. This song is about telling a woman not to listen to the people, they say bad things.
We ran through the songs with a smaller group and then larger, so the videos you can see are first with the small group below:
Urukundo Rurambuye – false start, kept rolling. artists: - Makanyaga, Fataki and Wenga
Garuka Susanna artists: Makanyaga, Fataki and Wenga
Gikundiro – false start, kept rolling. Slight fumble at the end. artists Makanyaga, Fataki and Wenga
Hashize iminsi – artists Makanyaga, Fataki and Wenga
Ngwino Mukunzi – Take 1 aborted, noise. Take 2 good. Artists same as above plus Tabana on guitar
Nagera Muri Bari – same artists as no.


Then we redid all the above with the full band except Lutagengwa.
Urukundo rurambuye – Retake
Garuka Susanna – Retake
Gikundiro – Retake
Hishize iminsi – Retake. False start after 1-2 mins but kept rolling. Call to prayer in the back ground during the 2ndhalf
Ngwino Mukunzi – Retake. False start brief, kept rolling


We then added a new song added and the whole band present.
Rubanda


Recorded: 23.09.23
Location: Gikonda, Kigali,Rwanda