YVAN NGENZI’S TIPS ON BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL CAREER

 

 

 

YVAN NGENZI’S TIPS ON BULIDING A SUCCESSFUL CAREER

 

Ngenzi is a traditional gospel musician who is known for his traditional touch on gospel songs. In an interview with Yvan, he mentioned how he started his career and how he was influenced by famous gospel artists (musicians) such as; Uwimana Aime and Habonimana Apollinaire, a Burundian gospel singer.

The singer started his career in 2007, where he recorded his first song while he was a secondary school student.

 

 

Later on, he faced a problem finding a producer he was searching for, so he went for another one to record his song. As a secondary school student, I was singing in my boarding school and in the school's worship team, where I got compensated with little money. By the time Yvan made his second song in 2007, he had said he had the privilege of working with a well-known producer named Nicholas. The producer's fame was due to his collaboration with rising stars like Meddy & The Ben back in 2007.

 

As my career went on through the years, it was interrupted with studies and family responsibilities to the point where I found myself in traditional worshiping. Back in the days, I was singing RnB type. Still, I realized that I had a calling for my Rwandan tradition; from there is started investing my whole energy in traditional gospel music. In his long-going career, he mentioned his first album launched in 2019 called NTAHEMUKA. And lately, I recently collaborated with Jules Sentore In the song called URERA, and I am still planning for other further projects in the future.

 

HOW DID YOU COMBINE BOTH STUDYING AND SINGING?

When I started music, it was not something that could attract a student to give up studying. I spent a lot of time in a boarding school away from my parents, where my grades were lowering, but it didn't make me have bad grades while even singing. So I had to balance both, I had to find time for studying and for singing separately without mixing both, it was not easy because sometimes we are driven by our emotions of music, but thankfully it went well.

 

WHAT CHALLENGES DID YOU FACE?

1. The first challenge I faced was that it wasn't like nowadays there were few studios and were very expensive, and I was still a student with no money;  

2. My second challenge was insufficient knowledge about music. I remember we used to teach ourselves how to play the guitar, which is different from today where you can go on youtube and learn how to play all sorts of instruments. At the start of my career, there were no schools that taught music even the ones that were there were few and costly; 

3. My third challenge was how people perceived music back then and how they perceived someone who was about to go into the music industry. Many people argued that a kid who was going into music was a failure and was going to do drugs and lose him/herself. To be a musician was something you did because you couldn't do anything else. I remember my parents used to tell me that I had to study sciences because people wouldn't respect someone pursuing a career in music like a businessman. Still, it is not how it is today; I see nowadays some musicians are also in the sectors of leadership; 

4. My last challenge was, first of all, I had to find where I belonged and when to stop and let the gift of God that I was given go public, so when you are young, you have many things that flow in you, so you have to know how your talent can be useful because it requires to have a strong character and discipline. After all, if the character is not built, the talent misses a foundation. So as an artist, you should know what God wants you to do with your ability.

The singer also once became a model and a karate practitioner, I once tried to find my talent in all of those areas later to discover that it was not that that I was called for, that's why it's important to know what God wants you to do, do not waste your time.

HOW DID YOU SEEK OUT OPPORTUNITIES?   

Opportunities in the music industry are found in many places, and Rwandans love to be entertained, which creates the value of talent, and the importance of talent is money. I am a professional MC( Master of Ceremony), which I combine with my music, which is very beneficial and helps me to continue my career as a musician.

CAREER + STUDYING

As a student at Mount Kenya University Rwanda, what motivated me to come back to pursue my studies was that I looked at my life. I projected where I want to see myself in 10 years. I wanted to reach there more educated with more knowledge, and I have to pass through classes and get educated because, in my own understanding, the experience is the key. "When you know, you know, when you don't know, you don't know." Even if you are a genius, if you don't know how to drive a car, you can't just sit in it and say you are going to drive, and a vehicle has manuals, you have to know how it works.

So that was my motivation to come back to school to reach the projection I want.

TIPS ON DEVELOPING A SUCCESSFUL CAREER

First of all, when you know that you have a talent in you and a talent reflected the public, the thing that helps you is what I've said previously "Character." In character, there is discipline; you have to know what you are about to do and how to direct them and know which impact you want to project to the society. Additionally, you have to see what you want and have a real character. My Role model who I look up to, who I like to always talk about is President Paul Kagame when you look at where he started or rose as someone who had a purpose and a goal to achieve. Today he is one of the leaders the world will never forget in its history because he saved people from hell to a better place.

 

So to be able to achieve those things and to be prepared, to sum up, your talent and studies, you have to know that everything has its own time, you don't mix things. When you are studying, you take time to study, and when you are creating as an artist, you also find time for it. To have a purpose in life is the basis to be able to achieve it and reach it. So you can't mix both when studying; you have to focus. There is a fact in photography when using the lens of a camera when you focus on one person; everything around him/her becomes blurry. It means if someone has his focus on someone or something, everything around becomes invisible. "Camera is an excellent example of attention; that's why it's helpful to know what you want and don't get distracted by anything. But in this career, many people fall and stand again, and you have to have a healthy mindset, you have to know if you messed up to make things right.