EDITOR’S NOTE The beginning of
the calendar year is at its heart a fantasy of newness and clean slates of the chance to do things differently and with more attention to purpose. In reality, it’s also one of the most challenging times of the year for many of us, So holidays are over and fly straight into the plate-glass window of an overfull schedule.
As I talk with friends and colleagues about plans, the word “
hectic” keeps coming up,and I think we should find that a little worrisome.A hectic fever is what you get when you have consumption. It looks a lot like excitement, but ultimately, you’re consumed.
Our second issue is a call to take a breath and remember what it
is that we’re doing, and why. You won’t find any New Year’s resolution, but you will encounter many different angels on the idea of first principles: the ideas and position on which everything else is built.
We don’t often have time to consider all the underlying stuff that
gives our work shape, character, and meaning, and that time won’t ever appear on its own. But we can choose it. Even in the crazy spells and maybe especially then, when we’re making so many important decisions. We’ll have thoughts ranging from snacks-sized to feast- worthy by writers who lead content strategy projects, write interfaces, develop reading applications and build information systems.
CONTRIBUTORS
Special Thanks
SHEMA ABDOUL @shemaharris IRADUKUNDA MADINAH @madinahxviil WINNIE RUGAMBA @winnie.rugamba SAMIRA ISIMBI @isimbi_samira SHABANI SERVAL @shabaniserval
THEZOOM 2018
WHAT’S INSIDE ?
22
12
MEET EMMANUEL
MEET DJ MARNAUD
07
SOCIAL MEDIA How? Social media has become popular in Rwanda
13
FAMOUS TRIO Famous Trio Artist or Band Thoughout history
28
MEET WINNIE
19 35
DIASPORA A little chat with Karla Kalisa INTERVIEW WITH LOUS We talk about music, lifestyle, art with this talented artist.
DID YOU KNOW ?
The silhouette of two people. A friend you can rely on is standing behind you. Also symbolizes a community or group.
Honey does not spoil.
You could feasibly eat 3000 year old honey.
Cats sleep for 70% of their lives.
SOCIAL MEDIA
IMAGE BY GOOGLE
One website reveals that more than
individuals, and organizations can one billion people are on Facebook. all benefit from this simple means 400 million people on Instagram, of communicating. However, as 300 million people on Twitter, and with all forms of internet-based communications, it provides an YouTube attracts more than 5 easy means for abuse such as Billion people a day and has 1.5 billion logged in monthly users bullying, slander, and propaganda. watching a ton of mobile video. It arents would be wise to monitor further says people share more than their children’s use of social media. 50 billion pieces of content on I feel like the premise of social Facebook each month. media is a decent idea. It is nice
P
According to Social media stats in
Rwanda Facebook 89.93% ; Pinterest: 5.18%; Twitter: 2.89%, Linkedin: 0.62%; YouTube: 0.49%; Instag ram:0.27%Kagame,the ‘Digital President’ is an ardent promoter of use of technology and believes in investing in the country’s youth.
The
Rwandan leader who has deeply embraced e-governance, uses social media to easily interact with citizens including people across the world Social media can be a very good thing for opening up and maintaining lines of communication. Businesses,
to stay in touch with extended family members and some friends and in that respect, I think it is a good thing. I believe, however, that people who introduced social media, now want to use it as an advertising platform, and that, to me, is bad.
WHAT IS CREATIVITY ?
WHAT IS ART ?
By [definition] it is a
It is a [noun] that means the
phenomenon whereby something new and somehow valuable is formed, The created item may be intagible such as an idea, a musical composition, or a physical object such as an invetion, a literary work, or a painting
quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aeshetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.
#MEET
EMMANUEL NKURANGA Painter and Co-Founder INEMA Art Center
EMMANUEL NKURANGA
is a self – taught painter and mixed –media expressionist and one of the founders of Inema Art Center in Kigali, Rwanda Nkuranga co-founded the Inema Art Center with his brother and fellow painter, innocent Nkurunziza, In 2010, Nkuranga founded Art with a Mission, which unlocks orphans hidden artistic talent. Pieces are sold proceeds supporting orphans livelihood and school fees. Dedicated to cultivating the talent around him, Nkuranga actively creates opportunities to expand creativity in his community and the world at large.
FAMOUS TRIO
KIGALI BOYS
URBAN BOYS
SKANK NATION
Image By IZABELLA
ABOUT US Why You Need to Tell Your Story to the world Who are you? I bet you have a story to tell. Will you tell it? What would be the cost to you in your life if you choose not to tell your story? What would you like to share with the people who know you- and those who don’t?
WHO ARE WE? We are an online magazine providing space for the youth to create and share their stories through art. It is important that we see ourselves in these spaces, showing that we do exist and we’re not going anywhere not only for ourselves but, for the future generations to come.
WANT TO BE FEATURED IN THE NEXT ISSUE ? We want to feature you. Also, feel free to submit your photographs, accomplishments, poems, articles to our email thezoommagazine@gmail.com
WHY CALL THEM DIASPORA ? By KARLA
KALISA
Some people call them diaspora other don’t even know how to call them
C
ountries like Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya has a huge diaspora populations in the United States and European countries are having a hard time digesting their return. These nations and others are facing the many challenges posed by contemporary transnational communities and cultural flows.
S
ome diaspora cultures, with clear origins following enforced dispersions, are well documented, for example the Rwandan, Ugandan, Kenyan and the Burundian Diasporas and, more recently, However, the majority of countries throughout the world, and therefore most Council of Africa member states, in fact recognize their own diaspora culture. In addition, whilst some diaspora cultures are relatively unknown, the majority of member states play ‘”host” to a great number of different diaspora cultures.
D
iaspora cultures exist throughout the world. The diffusion of cultures has contributed to the existence of a number of diaspora communities, which seek to safeguard and consolidate active links with their country of origin their ‘home land’ whilst preserving their status within their current country of reception.
T
his is a phenomenon that involves European cultures, but also cultures from across the globe. This is to say Does Culture Affect our Personality? Loosely defined, culture refers to the shared values, beliefs and norms of a specific group of people. Culture, therefore, influences the manner we learn, live and behave. Because of this, many theorists believe that culture is an important shaper of our personality.
T
he major elements of culture are symbols, language, norms, values, and artifacts. Language makes effective social interaction possible and influences how people conceive of concepts and objects. Major values that distinguish the United States include individualism, competition, and a commitment to the work ethic.
W
hy is language one of the most important aspects of culture? Unlike other aspects of culture, language does not change. When groups migrate, a shared language helps prevent conflict. Language allows people to communicate and provides a sense of identity. Languages can be classified into language families.
ILLUSTRATION BY
C H E YE NNE MUV UNYI
#MEET
DJ MARNAUD READ MORE BELOW
A little Introduction ? My name is Mugisha Gatera Arnaud; I just turned 23 How did it all start for you? I grew up loving music after the dance career, I turned to music because it was a longterm passion. Who is your biggest inspiration? I have never went through those role model things, I just do me and try to learn something new everyday. I got much respect to DJ karim because he is the one who brought me in this industry What is one track that never gets old for you no matter how many times you hear it? Slow wind by R.Kelly What is your favorite color? Red
KEEP UP WITH HIM HERE Instagram: dj_marnaud Twitter: @dj_marnaud Soundcloud: dj-marnaud-677503918
FOUR INSTAGRAM ACCOUNTS
YOU SHOULD PROBABLY BE FOLLOWING
CASIMIR ZAGOURSKI The Photographer
I
n the years between the two world wars, no photographer in central Africa visually articulated popular ideas about the peoples in this region more eloquently than Casimir Zagourski (1883-1944). His oeuvre consists of hundreds of black-and-white prints, exquisite in technical and aesthetic execution. Zagourski was born Kazimierz ZagĂłrski in what is today Ukraine to the family of a Polish nobleman. (In 1883 Poland was under Russian occupation, and the family had moved to Russia.) Zagourski served in the czarist air force, and following the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 he returned to a now-independent Poland, but he found it difficult to make a living. In 1924 he settled in LĂŠopoldville, the capital of the Belgian Congo, and opened a photographic studio. Zagourski became an accomplished photographer specializing in portraiture. He soon received commissions from the colonial government to cover official events, and he photographed colonial buildings and establishments.
H
is great passion, however, was to document the peoples of central Africa. Like his contemporaries, he believed that central African cultures were on the verge of extinction and that photography could preserve those aspects that were bound to disappear. Between 1929 and 1937, he set out on several expeditions to French Equatorial Africa (A.E.F.), Rwanda, Kenya and Tanganyika. With superb technique and great sensitivity he created portraits of Africans that-although taken in the tradition of anthropological photography--evoke a sense of closeness and empathy.
#MEET WINNIE RUGAMBA A SPOKEN WORD/POET
HER POPULAR PIECE ENTITLED, “TO THE KID WITH POTENTIAL” When Potential Isn’t Enough “Winnie, you’re going to do big things in life.” If I got a dollar every single time this was said to me, hey, I would not be sitting in Wiley College trying to get a degree, I’d probably be somewhere in the gorgeous streets of Venice, living life, but alas! Here I am. I request you to read this with a very open mind. A lot of it will sound like I am bragging, but just stay with me and you will understand where I am going with this. Fortunately for me, I never had a rough time in school; from primary school to high school, I was able to place first to third in class. With that being said, you might think I was smart, but I just think I have a remarkable memory that was able to memorize every single detail the day before a test or exam, but please do not dare ask me a question about what I read right after the test (yes, I am one of those people). So, according to someone that I do not know, somehow if you have always done well in school, you’re automatically going to do well in life just because “education is key.” While that is a lie, it isn’t too far from the truth, either. A lot of people that did well in school do end up doing well in their adulthood, excel in their jobs, and there is nothing surprising about it because “they’ve always done well since a very young age,” which makes it a valid assumption, I guess. Well, today, I’m in college and by God’s grace, it hasn’t been the worst. I am still able to get a couple of A’s and B’s as well as C’s whenever I forget to turn in my assignments, but apart from that I was also involved in other stuff: debate team, poetry, acting, writing, and other things that exposed me to different people and places which could be considered “impressive” considering where I’m from, I guess. Basically, I had it going for me, people told me I was going to be great, do big things, some predicted that I was going to be the minister of foreign affairs in Rwanda or the minister of gender and family promotion; others said I was going to be an amazing actress, probably walk on that red carpet one day.
I’ve been told that I will publish books and many more things that were meant to be encouraging, or sometimes just people voicing their dead dreams, but whatever it is I am thankful for the hope that everyone had in me but what I got to figure out along the way is that it is easier for people to talk about the lovely parts about life but never the ugly parts. Nobody really spoke about the barriers, hopelessness, loneliness, confusion, self-doubt, headaches, sleepless nights, the burden that comes with knowledge; no one ever told me that there will be days I will not want to wake up in the morning. In fact, I have the desire to forever be in bed. No one talked about the nights that doubt will creep in your bed and cuddle you till you fall asleep to the sound of your shattering confidence. Nobody talked about the pressure, the pressure that comes with everyone expecting you to do well—not even expecting, really, but more like watching to see where you are going to mess up even though they are your loudest cheerleaders; nobody talked about the uncertainty that comes with all the options or “opportunities,” the fear of choosing the wrong major, career, job, partner or just anything good that comes your way. Nobody told me about the reality. The reality of life. Whatever the reason, maybe they didn’t want to scare me or discourage me from dreaming and dreaming big but facing the truth after believing in a lie your whole life doesn’t really make it easier. So, to the kid with “ potential,” to the kid with “a bright future,” to the kid with “a full life ahead”: Yes, you are talented, you are beautiful, you are intelligent, you are confident, you are enough, you are enough, you are enough. But you will get tired. Some days you will wish people did not expect so much from you. You will wish you are allowed to take a break and cry, to miss classes once, twice, and sometimes for a whole week; you will get scared— life definitely has a way of tapping into your insecurities; you will meet people that seem prettier than you, sing better than you, write better than you, speak better than you do, work faster than you do. The trap of comparison is inevitable especially in a world that feeds off competition and measuring success in one way by whoever is setting the standards. Some days you will be trapped in it for a while. If you are a student, for example, trust me, at some point you will HATE school, hate your classes, your professors, and want to punch your classmates.
I use the word “hate” to emphasize on how strong the emotion you will feel is. You will question the education system, you will question LIFE, so many times! And the ugly truth is that you will at times be visited by suicidal thoughts (I promise I am not being dramatic). Life will hit you from every corner and the thing is, contrary to the popular belief, it doesn’t take a tragedy to keep you in bed; it just takes life. Sometimes it happens too fast, other days it happens too slow, some days it is fair and most days it is unfair. You will be denied opportunities that you know you deserved perhaps because of your gender, race, and sometimes just because they didn’t like you. You will meet bullies in form of people, thoughts, words, memories, or experiences. You will cry, a lot. You might develop a drinking problem just to numb the confusion; you will find things like relationships as an escape from reality just to be slapped by the very same thing. I know this sounds dramatic, pessimistic, childish maybe or just sounds like another spoiled child venting. Whatever way you choose to take this, depends on you, I am just here to be what no one was to me and say what was never said to me. Despite all the ugly things mentioned above though, you are still that person that was mentioned before. Everything that is beautiful about you, everything that is true and pure about you is the things that will get you through the ugly days. The love in you will conquer the hate in the world, the confidence in you will rise at your lowest of moments, the voice, the writing, the engineering, the drawing, the coloring, the painting, the eye, the accuracy, the leader, the healer, the counsellor, the magician in you will always find ways out. For some, it might take longer than others, but that is what life is. Every human is born alone, every human being has their own time; to grow, to learn, to graduate, to work, to fall in love, to fall out of love, to succeed, and at last, to die. I say all this to wake up the spirit of calmness in you and in me. To remember that it isn’t about how fast you get to the finish line but about noticing and appreciating the leaps, strides, moments, and heart that you put in everything that you are doing. It is about patience, patience, patience.
As much as “trusting the process” sounds cliche, it is the reality, sometimes you will have a moment of pause in your life or pauses at times. So when we focus on everything outside and forget what is happening within, it is then that we get weary, tired, and confused because we have forgotten to feed the inside first. So when those draining days say hello, remember that it is OK, to just take a step back, take a nap, then try again. In a world of flaws and endless imperfections, each one of us carries the right amount of perfection required to get through it. You’re enough. I am enough, we’re all enough. If you make it out of bed tomorrow morning and be able to do life for the day…. hey! You’re winning!
HOT & NOT
People who post too much instagram span .If every second post is paid for, why are we even following you? If I wanted that kind of saturation of paid for posts, I’d spend more time on facebook.Scratchies? Health insurance? Ugh.
NOT Swimwear warn how it’s meant to be warn As summer approaches I’d like to introduce a new idea: not showing your swimmers up your butt in some weird instagram post – wedgie situation. If you want to show off your but, just buy a G, you guys.
HOT
EVENTS I AM HIP HOP
The event features Hip Hop artist like Prime, Bushali, Nova and many more.
PRIME
@IamHipHopSeason4
PHOTO BY SPOKEN WORD
A monthly event organized by Green Ferry Record to promote the Hip Hop and rap music in Rwanda.
MEE T LOUS + INTERVIE W
Image By IZABELLA
What’s some background information about yourself that you don’t mind sharing with our readers?
I’m 21 years old; I’m from Rwanda and Congo. My off-stage name is “Marie-Pierra Kakoma” and I was born in Congo, Lubumbashi and I’ve lived in Congo obviously and also Zambia, Belgium, and Rwanda. I have two gorgeous sisters and one amazing brother
When did your love of music begin?
It arrived so early when I was a little girl, I can’t remember really. I could never describe what music did to my soul as a child because it felt so unreal, so powerful. Music was like a dream full of beautiful flowers, if that makes sense
Lousandtheyakuza, how did you come up with your name?
How do you stay inspired? What do you do when you’re uninspired? I’m writing at least 10 songs a week, even when I’m not in the mood (which happens once every then decade), I kind of force myself to. And that exercise has kept me inspired all these years. Sometimes I don’t write songs really but I write, like, letters maybe to myself, or my lovers or I write books. It’s just that writing is something I enjoy so much and that makes me feel so good, I don’t really have a problem staying inspired, because all of my music talks about things that happened to me in the past of things I would like to have in the future, or my family, my lovers, my... It’s always about something around or inside of me, so it’s easy to write about things for me, I just have to open my eyes or close them and see what’s going on inside and out.
“Lous” is the word “Soul” backward. My music is the language of my soul, I think if souls could speak, that’s the kind of sound they will do. They will sound like precious melodies... And “Yakuza” stands for all the people who help me create my music. I feel like giving them credits directly in my name because those people (beat makers, musicians, engineers, studio owners, managers, assistants, etc...) are the reason why music can go from my little note book to everybody’s ears. And I could never thank them enough. And I also chose the word “Yakuza” and not another one because I’m addicted to Japanese culture and I’ve always ended up working with the most strange people and they sometimes have the aspect of gangsters ha-ha
Who does your album artwork?
How would you best describe your genre of music?
What’s the weirdest thing that’s ever happened to you while working on a song?
I will describe it as “Music I like” because I do so much different type of music; I do French pop, Trap, Hip hop, Traditional, Acoustic, Tripop, RnB, Soul, Blues, Rock’n Roll, Korean pop, Funk music, etc. I enjoy all kind of music in the world and I don’t want to get in one box at the moment really, I just want to feel free and create so I don’t push myself in one or another category.
So many people tried to send me their art work of what could be the album cover but I haven’t find the right one yet. And I think I’ll be working more with photographers than actual graphic designers for this album cover.
What’s in the near future for Lousandtheyakuza?
I’m working on a tape with one of my friend at the moment, and I’m probably going to put out that tape before my album. And I still have no exact date for my album but it’s probably going to be dropped in the early 2018.
I think it’s the “crying thing” that I have. I keep on crying over and over when a write songs about love. Because I feel like I’ve been hurt so much and my heart is broken and sometimes I wonder if I will fix it one day. And that makes me cry every time. I’m also very sensitive ha-ha... So it’s not really hard for me to cry, but I only cry when I’m alone, far away from human beings.
Outside of music, what else do you like to do in your spare time?
I mostly paint and write books. I love drawing and mixing colors together. It gives me peace and I need peace. And sometimes I also model a little bit, and I take my friends to eat, that’s what I love the most. Just enjoying my friends and my people as much as I can, because I’m always very busy, I’m kind of the ghost of every group of friends that I’ve been in since forever. I always working on music, so I’m stuck in the studio, or on stage and it’s hard to be friend with me because I never have time to even call or text back so for those who are still there, understanding my situation, I’m really grateful for them.
Image By B. VANDELOISE
As a young black girl creative, why isrepresentation important to you?
Image By VINCENT
Because all the humans matter. I think we should all feel free to showcase our love for our self and our traditions and culture. I’m happy when I see Asian with something they can call their own, same for Africans, blue people, red people, old people, etc... I just feel comfortable around people who are proud of themselves and where they come from. I don’t put myself in any box as I said before, I am a “young black creative” for sure, but I prefer to be just ”Lous” and not define myself with the amount of melanin that lives inside my skin. I will always defend black people’s rights and values but I will defend with the same rage white’s people rights and values. We are all equals, that’s what I stand for every day.
LOUS LOUSANDTHEYAKUZA SOUNDCLOUD / YOUTUBE
LOUSANDTHEYAKUZA
Merry Christmas and
Happy New Year
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