Rwandan Afrobeats artiste, Bruce Melodie, is exciting to watch. He has been making waves on social media in the past few weeks following the release of his single, When She’s Around featuring Strength of a Woman composer, Shaggy.
The sound has gained attention, especially in his home country, and as a result, the young performer is set to embark on his ‘iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour’ scheduled to kick off in Dallas, United States, from November 28.
It is the first time the East African musician is partnering with a Jamaican artiste—a collaboration that has been described by Bruce as “enlightening and enjoyable.”
The new song, currently distributed across media platforms by Prime Music Partners, makes the Katerina hitmaker one of the fast-rising Afrobeat stars on the international music scene.
In October, he was named the Best Rwandan Artiste at the 2023 Trace Music Awards held in Kigali, and also treated the audience to refreshing renditions from his repertoire at the ceremony.
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Born Itahiwacu Bruce, the 31-year-old has been making some good contributions, having been on the music scene for some time. He started singing at an early age and released his debut song Tubivemo in August 2013.
Currently with 1:55AM Entertainment, he has performed throughout Rwanda and neighbouring countries, including Uganda and has collaborated with numerous artistes.
Bruce released his second album Ntundize in 2014 under Super Level Music Label but in February 2021, announced that he had signed with Cloud9 Entertainment.
In 2022, he terminated that agreement to join his current management, 1:55AM Entertainment, headed by Gael Karomba AKA Coach Gael.
With a good following on Audiomack (Africa), some of his records include Katerina, Sawa Sawa ft. Khaligraph Jones, Bon Appetit ft. FikFameica, The Way You Are, and many others.
He has won a number of awards, including Video of the Year at the HiPipo Awards in 2019; Artiste of the Year at the Choice Awards in 2021; and Best Summer Artiste at Kiss Summer Awards in 2021.
The success of his previous records propelled him in many aspects, with most of his albums receiving over a million views on YouTube, in addition to good airplay on Rwandan and East African media channels.
His Latest up-tempo rendition, ‘When’s She’s Around’ is described “as a blend of distinctive musical styles” as Shaggy introduces his Caribbean and typical raga vibes, making the composition fresh and globally appealing.