MC Monday to rebels: talk peace, not war

Louise Umutoni | Created: Monday, 27 October 2008 | Views: 26

MC Monday is on a mission these days. He is preaching love and peace, especially to those Rwandans who still want to restart the war. “Weapons only cause death; let’s sit down in peace and sort out our problems.” MC Monday: Not a politician, but a philosopher. (file photo) What do you have in store for your fans? Well, I have a new album entitled Ijambo, which means speech. There are ten songs on it, and I think they are all really cool. Any personal favorites? Yes, it’s the title track, Ijambo. It’s a reggae song and it’s a real hit, it’s constantly played on the radio. I think it’s because it has a particular message—the message of peace, love and unity. I’m calling on all Rwandans, especially those abroad, to unite and build the country, and not to connive to start another war but rather use those funds to rebuild our country which has already gone through a lot of turmoil. Weapons do not bring peace they only cause death; come back in peace and sit down and we can sort out whatever problems we have together. What inspired to write this song? I was watching television and the UN was talking about peace and, referring to the FDRL rebels, how genuine peace can never be attained in Rwanda if an agreement is not reached between the rebels in Congo and the government. This got me thinking about the genocide and its devastating effects on the people—all the children who became orphans, widows and the victims of the genocide. I realized I did not want this to ever happen, again and one of the ways to fight this is to cool those rebels down and convince them to come back for peace talks. You are particularly known as an entertainer but this sounds a little political… I’m not becoming political. As artists we should entertain, but we also have a duty to our society—we need to be of service to the community. I choose to be an educator, and through this song I am educating the people. I am particularly interested in the youth and children because they are the future. We need to sow good seeds in them in order to have a good harvest. I personally do not believe that there are tribes in Rwanda; this is all something that was made up by the white man to divide us. We are all Rwandans, and this is what we should teach our children. So this song is not political, I am interested in the people and I’m preaching peace and harmony—it’s philosophy, not politics. And have you been able to get your message across? No I haven’t, it’s really hard to get your music out there. However, that might change very soon, as most artists want to go regional, and even international. I plan to send my music to Channel O and as many interviews with foreign media. Also I’m working on a blog which I hope will sell my music outside Rwanda. Do you have people coming up to you and telling you that your music has had a positive influence on their lives? Yes it has happened so many times. For this song, actually, Miss Jojo told me it was “bomboclat”, Rafiki said it was real Rasta and I also got praise from KGB. I believe that if top artists appreciate your music,s then you are definitely having an effect. Do you believe you can bring the change you desire through your music? Definitely, I have had a number of testimonies of how my music has changed lives. However change comes slowly, behavior change is a gradual process it doesn’t just happen suddenly. When will you feel your goal has been reached? This will be when I see the UN meeting to talk about peace in other countries with no mention of Rwanda, when there are no more Rwandan refugees and when there is no more discrimination among Rwandans and they are living harmoniously together. After that I will move on to East Africa, then Africa and finally the world. Do you intend to preach your message only through music? In a way, yes, because that seems to be the only way I can reach as many people as possible. But on the other hand, I also work on the radio and I believe you should use all you can get your hands on to make a difference. Any message you would you like to leave to the readers? I would like to tell the youth always to be careful, and to remember that the future belongs to you so you need to be smart. And for the rest, we should give love because that’s only way you can get love. And food for thought, we always say the white man lied to us, so what are we going to do about it? Are we going to sit back and take these lies or are we going to seek for the truth and make things right? It has been said that the President is not a fan of your music, does this discourage you? (Laughs) No, it doesn’t. Everyone thought I would be put off by that comment about my song Inyoni, but I was rather delighted that President actually knows one of my songs. And when it comes to music, people have different tastes and preferences. So there’s no problem with the President not liking my music, its normal. Besides, the song is particularly for children, and they love it—they now refer to me as tonto wa abana (literally: uncle of the children, ed.). You know, at FESPAD I was asked not to sing Inyoni because the president was present, but there were far more children and I decided not to disappoint them; so I sang it.