Reuben Kigame news Archives

Veteran singer Reuben Kigame accuses the government and DJ’s of stealing from him

Posted on April 15, 2021April 15, 2021 by Pauline Syombua

Singer Reuben Kigame has come out to blast the government over the petty music royalties he recently received.

As seen on a tweet shared on his page Rueben goes on to rant about DJ’s using his music to enrich themselves; yet at the end of the day he is the one composing and using resources to create his music.

According to the singer some DJ’s end up making more money through his music; than he has made in the 11 years he has been recording. Through his Twitter handle the singer wrote;

So, radio DJs who play my music can be paid 700,000 or more a month, that is every four weeks, but I cannot make 300,000 in 11 years from tons of recordings! It is immoral.

Calls out clergy

Having released over 25 albums since he started recording his music; Reuben Kigame went on to add that his music has enriched many – apart from himself.

Addressing pastors and bishops who continue to act like nothing is happening; Reuben went on to add;

And all pastors and bishops can say is, keep serving the Lord. The government thinks I will be quiet. Never.

Unfortunately, Rueben Kigame is not the only artist complaining of theft as many continue to call out the government and its copyright bodies over the small earnings they received from alleged ‘music royalties’.

Jemimah Thiong’o links up with Reuben Kigame and Princess Fridah on ‘Lipo Tumaini’ (Video)

Posted on February 10, 2020May 4, 2020 by David Kingsley

Veteran gospel singers Reuben Kigame and Jemimah Thiong’o have linked up with Princess Faridah and Sifa Voices on a new song titled Lipo Tumaini and it’s totally worth your time.

Also read: Kenyan gospel artists must wake up

Lipo Tumaini are Swahili words that mean there is hope and as you can tell, this main aim of this jam is to encourage believers not to give up when they encounter challenges.

Put simply, one should not throw in the towel and end his/ her life because they are frustrated or things aren’t going the way they expected.

Reuben Kigame

Instead, we should seek God and tell him our troubles since he’ll never desert us in our time of need and he can help us overcome them.

There are many reasons why I love this jam. Firstly, the powerful message that it carries really resonates with me and I must tell you that after listening to it, the assurance made me feel less burdened.

Secondly, Lipo Tumaini is so infectious. It sounds so pleasant to the ears. I have had it on replay since it was released out and to be honest, I’ve lost count of the number of times I have listened to it.

Thirdly, the voices of the artists on this jam are so melodious and to add to that it has some Coastal vibe to it and that is one of the things that makes it exceptional.

Princess Faridah

Jemimah and Princess Faridah’s beautiful voices blend perfectly with that Reuben Kigame and the choir spice up the songs with their melodious background vocals. It’s so heavenly ladies and gentlemen.

I totally love the instrumentation on Lipo Tumaini, especially because it is inspired by Taarab, remember that this is a gospel song. Anyway, all I am saying is that it sounds so pleasant.

The video concept is also on point albeit. Just like the audio, it was inspired by the Coastal lives and that is evidenced by their attires and locations.

Watch Lipo Tumaini below and tell us what you think.

Blind gospel singer Reuben Kigame speaks on raising his kids after losing his wife in a road accident

Posted on January 29, 2019 by Martin Oduor

Gospel musician Reuben Kigame lost his wife in a grisly road accident in 2006. It was such a painful lose to him since his late wife was his childhood sweetheart.

Speaking during an interview with Word Is, Kigame opened up about the death of his wife, how it deeply affected him and how he managed to cope with the lose.

“It is not easy losing a friend because Mercy was a friend and my confidant. We grew up together. She was the girl of my youth and we faced challenges together for 15 years. Losing her was paralysing and I didn’t know that I could continue moving on because I didn’t know what was lying ahead. But through the encouragement of my pastors and friends, I realised I had to move on,” said Reuben Kigame.

Raising kids

Kigame also narrated how he was forced to fulfill his parental duties alone following the death of his wife. He disclosed that he used to take his daughters to the salon and even cooked with them.

“Raising my kids, especially the girls, has been so great. I could even take them to the salon and wait for their hair to be done and even cook together with them. I like being with my family,” Kigame said.

The celebrated gospel singer later on married his second wife Julie. The two have been blessed with a son together.

Blind gospel singer Reuben Kigame advises Bahati/Willy Paul generation of singers

Posted on January 19, 2018 by Martin Oduor

Most contemporary songs lose relevance in one or two years, some even months. Reuben Kigame shares a trick on how to compose songs that defy time.

The likes of Angela Chibalonza and E-Sir died many years ago but even people who were born after their deaths still enjoy their songs.

Veteran singer Reuben Kigame is a musician whose songs are not time-bound. The blind gospel singer shared his trick in a long post on social media.

Stay focused on the Word as you write

THE SECRET OF COMPOSING SONGS THAT LAST!

By Reuben Kigame

While being interviewed on a television station in Burundi late last year, I was asked a strange question: “Why is it that your songs never seem to die? We have been singing them for many years and they sound as fresh as they were many years ago.” I call it a strange question because I had never thought of my songs that way. However, something came to my mind at that time and I shared it in answer to the question. Now I look at it as a secret that is kept from many Christian songwriters, but would like to say that it should actually not be a hidden secret anymore.

So what songs last the longest? Why is it we keep singing hymns that were written several centuries ago and they remain fresh to our hearts and minds? The answer, I think, is found in Matthew 24:35 and Luke 21:33. There, the Bible says that heaven and earth will pass away but that the Word of God will never pass away.

If you compose a love song about a girlfriend or boyfriend and then he/she dies or leaves you, I doubt that you would keep singing such a song. You will not want it because it might remind you of something you would not want to remember. If you wrote and sang a song like “Tawala Kenya” which was sang in praise of President Daniel Arap Moi of Kenya, when he leaves office, the song would become irrelevant. People come and go, good and bad. Songs like “I’m not sober” make sense when you are not sober. “My land is Kenya” is only relevant to Kenyans. The world and all in it passes away. Only the Word of God remains forever.

If you write a song about the word of God, cite it, refer to it, apply it, etc, I promise you, your song will be bigger than you. It will be as big as God’s Word and it will be hard to pass away. What is even more important would be if the writer of the song highly respects and esteems this Word of God and lives by it. It will not be mere lip service to it. It will do what God says His Word does, i.e. never returns to Him without accomplishing the purpose for which it was sent out.

To you, dear songwriters. Please tell me what you think about this. To ministers of the Gospel, pray for us that we will stay focused on the Word as we write our songs, whether patriotic, romantic, evangelistic or edifying. Instead of complaining that the songs of this generation are empty, please, men of God, teach the Word faithfully and it will come through the music compositions and change lives as God honours His own Word.