Rwanda’s afro-dancehall star, Sintex speaks on music beyond borders

Considering that international singer Solange Knowles who is yet to break away from the shadow of her megastar sister, Beyoncé, is not easy to create a name for yourself, away from the link to an already famous sibling.

Locally, a relatively established Sintex started his career when his brother, the comedian and radio personality Arthur Nkusi, was already famous, meaning he would be continuously established as ‘Arthur’s brother’—always in his brother’s shadow.

Sintex chose dancehall as a genre while most new artists were in hip hop, Afro beat and R&B, as if that wasn’t difficult enough. Yet the artist says dancehall music has found love.

He’s a huge fan of Mowzey Radio, Chris Brown, Lucky Dube, Michael Jackson and Christopher Martin, with diverse music styles, but dancehall remains a favorite of the singer.

“I don’t limit myself when doing music but dancehall is my favourite style because it suits my taste. I believe success in life comes when you do what you love most,” he explains.

Sintex was born in 1989 and dedicated his life to music at a tender age while pursuing his studies in Uganda at secondary school.

“I shaped my vision around music as my dream career before I even finished secondary school studies. I had to study first but I already had a plan to do music way before,” he says.

Sintex has been doing music since 2012, born Arnold Kabera, but with little exposure, only days after finishing his secondary school studies in Uganda where he was famous as a dancer.

His first song ‘Akabazo’ was recorded on Unlimited Records. Sintex met Kenyan music producer Castello after recording only two songs, who linked him to a performance and networking with the Goethe Institute.

The German community, which witnessed his success, liked his music and gifted him to start his own studio with studio equipment.

“My performance left everyone admiring my music. They gave me studio equipment that I needed just because they liked my performance. I started my own studio right after that,” he says.

Sintex thought he would thrive in music since he was able to record songs in his own studio. He was not able to handle it, however, and ended up selling it in 2015.

His profile has been steadily rising since 2016, thanks to a few singles and collaborations such as ‘Ndabyimenyera,’ ‘Let’s talk about love,’ and ‘Why,’ as well as collabos with a string of local musicians.

With the release of his singles ‘Byina,’ ‘Icyoroshye’ and ‘Ndorera’ among others, the afro dancehall artist has had success.

The singer agreed a year later to do music under the management of Arthur Nation, owned by his comedian brother.

Sintex thought he would thrive in music since he was able to record songs in his own studio. He was not able to handle it, however, and ended up selling it in 2015.

His profile has been steadily rising since 2016, thanks to a few singles and collaborations such as ‘Ndabyimenyera,’ ‘Let’s talk about love,’ and ‘Why,’ as well as collabos with a string of local musicians.

With the release of his singles ‘Byina,’ ‘Icyoroshye’ and ‘Ndorera’ among others, the afro dancehall artist has had success.

The singer agreed a year later to do music under the management of Arthur Nation, owned by his comedian brother.

“He (Arthur) has been there for me not just as a manager but a brother. It’s been good working with his management as brothers, but our relationship has been far from sentimental so we can each achieve our goals and I think this is why I am at this level today,” he says.

The singer released a six-song Extended Play (EP), dubbed ‘My Vibes’ in March, in response to his fans’ rising requests.

His EP comprises songs such as ‘Calculator,’ ‘Jangolo,’ ‘Love Story,’ ‘Friday,’ ‘Gahunda’ and ‘Midnight Call,’ all recorded by various producers including Knox Beat, Papito, Ibalab, Bob Pro, Holybeat and Danny Beats.

Sintex says as a dancehall singer and songwriter that he wants to be remembered as someone who has played a big part in pushing the genre to a level where local musicians can compete in the dancehall world.

“I want to inspire the young generation to do music which can go beyond borders. I am pushing for my career, but the future is for our younger brothers and sisters in music and, together, we can do better and make it our own,” he says.