{"id":47,"date":"2011-04-22T07:06:31","date_gmt":"2011-04-22T07:06:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/interview-with-musical-diva-miss-jojo\/"},"modified":"2011-04-22T07:36:50","modified_gmt":"2011-04-22T07:36:50","slug":"interview-with-musical-diva-miss-jojo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/interview-with-musical-diva-miss-jojo\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with musical diva Miss Jojo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Miss Jojo<\/span> is one of Rwanda\u2019s most celebrated musicians courtesy of her amazing R&B tunes and magnetic voice. IGIHE.com<\/span> got a chance to interview the dazzling artist, who also doubles as a song-writer and whose music has already crossed boundaries to the whole of the East Africa region. <\/em><\/p>\n

IGIHE<\/span> : <\/strong>Who is Miss Jojo<\/span> ? Tell us a bit about your background.<\/p>\n

Jojo<\/span> : <\/strong> Am Josiane<\/span> Uwineza<\/span> and I am 27years<\/span> old. I was born in Nyamata<\/span> in the Eastern province. I went to school at Butare<\/span> for both my primary and secondary and finished my education at the National University of Rwanda. <\/p>\n

Why did you pick the name Jojo<\/span> for your stage performance ? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Since my Christian name is Josiane<\/span>, I choose the name Jojo<\/span> because people used to call me Jojo<\/span>. I also wanted to make it easier for the people who don\u2019t speak French. By calling myself Jojo<\/span>, I wanted to be different from others and bring something that would be catchy to my fans. <\/p>\n

When was your first stage performance ? Were you nervous ?<\/strong><\/p>\n

My first stage performance was at the Franco Rwanda cultural centre<\/span> and I had one song which was released. But I had another song, which was not yet out and some friends of mine who were launching DVDs invited me to perform. Since I was supposed to perform my first song, I was so scared. People were waiting to listen to my debut song which was already out. Fortunately, I started with the one I had not released yet. The audience was at first very quiet while listening to my song, but later started shouting and screaming throwing some money on stage. I was full of excitement after the audience\u2019s reaction to my performance. This gave me the courage to work hard on my music.<\/p>\n

How did you begin loving music ? Who inspired you to join the music industry ?<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I was still young, I used to sing in school choirs, and one day, I wrote two songs for my choir which were sang at school. The students loved the songs, and that is when I discovered that I could sing and at the same time become a song writer.<\/p>\n

My family was the first to inspire me to sing. I loved South African singer Yvonne Chaka<\/span> Chaka<\/span> because I always dreamed of becoming a great artist like her. I will never forget performing on stage with her. It was something I loved so much, which I shall never forget.<\/p>\n

Do you have a record label, or are you a member of any music organisation<\/span> ?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not permanently because I work with different producers here in Rwanda and in Kenya. In Rwanda, I normally work with Pastor P and JP, but I always go to Kenya to record most of my songs. In Kenya, I work with a studio known as Moja<\/span> entertainment that is owned by a producer called Robert Kamanzi<\/span>. I am not a member of any music organsation<\/span>, because in Rwanda the music industry has not reached the level to accommodate music organisations<\/span>. Every one is trying to make his\/her ends meet, but we are looking forward to it.<\/p>\n

Who writes your songs ? What are the main themes of most of your songs ? Do you think these themes will change with time ? <\/strong><\/p>\n

 I write them by myself. I compose my own songs. My main themes include love, encouragement towards peoples \u2018challenges, and life in general, because in this world, life always has ups and downs. I don\u2019t think my themes will change, because I don\u2019t want to change the world but to give the world a reason to live despite the hard times they face.<\/p>\n

How has your music changed or evolved since you begun singing ?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I began singing as a modest Jojo<\/span> and it wasn\u2019t that easy for me at first. However, my first album made it easy for me because I can now perform in different areas around the country and outside the country, mostly, in East Africa. This shows that my music has grown to some extent.<\/p>\n

What have been your biggest challenges as an artist ? Have you been able to overcome them ? If so how ?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Like I said, at beginning, in life, there are always so many challenges but it does not mean that you back off. Most of the challenges I face are in failing to get sponsors who can develop my talent. This is not a predicament I face alone. Even my fellow artists face it too. Secondly, when concerts are organised<\/span>, people do not turn up, yet, you have invested a lot in organising<\/span> it and you end up losing a lot. But I try to always cheer up and focus on tomorrow.<\/p>\n

How many albums do you have so far ? Any collaboration with other artists within the country or outside the country ?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have only one album so far and another one is in progress but I don\u2019t know the exact release date. I just know it will be very soon. For the case of collaborations, yes, I have many collaborations with different artists both outside and within the country. I have collaborated with such artists as Rafiki<\/span>,Patino<\/span>, Just family, Kidumu<\/span>, Michael Rose and so many others.<\/p>\n

Apart from music is there any other talent you have that people don\u2019t know about ?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I really don\u2019t know if I have another talent apart from singing.<\/p>\n

What advice do you have for the young upcoming artist who wants to make it big in the music industry ?<\/strong><\/p>\n

My advice will be brief, I would love to tell them that they should stand focused on what they want and go for it. They should know that you cannot reap what you do not sow.<\/p>\n

How can fans gain access to your music ? Do you have a website<\/strong> ?<\/strong><\/p>\n

You can get my songs anywhere, in different shops, around the country.<\/p>\n

Where do you see yourself in the future ? Let\u2019s say in five years to come ?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I want to see my music to be known around the whole of East Africa and if possible see my songs being played on MTV Base.<\/p>\n

Is there any one you would like to thank who contributed to your singing career ? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Am very grateful to my family, first and foremost, because they have been there for me from the beginning. I cannot forget all my fans and my supporters around the country. All I am asking is that they continue to support my music and help contribute to the development of the music industry in Rwanda.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Miss Jojo is one of Rwanda\u2019s most celebrated musicians courtesy of her amazing R&B tunes and magnetic voice. IGIHE.com got a chance to interview the dazzling artist, who also doubles as a song-writer and whose music has already crossed boundaries to the whole of the East Africa region.  IGIHE : Who is Miss Jojo ? Tell us […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"byline":[275],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-47","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment","byline-dianah-mutimura"],"bylines":[{"id":275,"name":"Dianah Mutimura","slug":"dianah-mutimura","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":null}],"contributors":[{"id":275,"name":"Dianah Mutimura","slug":"dianah-mutimura","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":null}],"featured_image":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=47"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=47"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}