Jean Christophe Matata sneaks into town

By Harry Sagara Carry your mind back to the Uganda music scene of the 1990-1995 era. The time when FM stations were just cropping up. Do you remember a Kinyarwanda song called Amaso Akunda (lovely eyes) that hit the airwaves like a Tomahawk missile? If you did not know, that song was the brainchild of Burundian ace crooner, Jean Christophe Matata. He had lately disappeared into oblivion, but I recently bumped into him at the Rock Bar surrounded by a bevy of babes who had ‘super-glued’ themselves around him like their lives depended on him! A not-so-tall chap spotting medium length dreadlocks, Matata is not as striking as you would expect of an established crooner. He would actually pass for the conventional lumpen at the Old Taxi Park, though a chat with him over a beer brings out the other side of him— a composed, soft spoken and intelligent young man. At the Rock Bar, he leaped onto stage and did a sample of his Amaso akunda hit, which sent the crowd into frenzied screams of ecstasy — the first of its kind at the Rocks. His advent into the musical world started at 16 with a band called Mihigo in Burundi as a drummer and lead singer. “I always had the ambition to have my own band and sing my own songs,” he says as some pretty kyana rubs his chest. With the inspiration to unveil his musical potential, Matata quit Mihigo band around 1986 and headed north for Kigali in Rwanda, where he set base and before anyone knew it, he had released his first ever album, Amaso Akunda by 1987. “Amaso Akunda was the first song I recorded in my life. Kigali was like the launching pad for my musical career,” he says. Today, Matata is based in Brussels and boasts of eight albums to his credit. The latest being Nyaranja which is a big hit in Canada, Belgium and Bujumbura. Matata toured Uganda in 1995 where he held successful shows at the Nile Hotel and Nakivubo stadium. He plans to do another gig here early next year. “In fact during my show here, I will launch my new album titled Uganda the pearl of Africa. By the end of December, I will have finished recording it,” he says. Matata sings mostly zouk and reggae. Apparently, his song Kayenge, Yenge is a blockbuster hit in Bujumbura and Kigali. His other song titled, Oooh la, la still shakes the charts in paris, France. Matata is very adamant about spilling his family issues. He says he is writing a book about that and does not want to pre-empt a thing. His current ambition is to promote African music and bring erstwhile unknown, but talented young musicians to the realms of international musical acclaim. “I have a recording studio back in Brussels and I want to work with young and talented musicians from this region. I think they need help,” he says. ends