“Avoiding the consequences of being famous”: An interview with the Queen of Rwandan Karaoke, Jane Uwimana

Abstract

Karaoke is the act of singing to prerecorded music. Put differently, karaoke is an exhibition of some sort of scripted simulation (Adams, 1996). The literature on karaoke performance is extensive across the globe. In Africa, however, this literature is non-existent. This is so in spite of the rampancy of the category in Rwanda‘s provinces where a karaoke fever brews, a near-absent nightlife notwithstanding. Having witnessed the popularity of karaoke in the country firsthand, and towards addressing the curious gap in the extant literature, Isought audiences with a selection of leading karaoke performers in contemporary Rwanda. Jane Uwimana is a blogger, a radio presenter and the acclaimed queen of Rwandan karaoke. This paper presents excerpts from a semi-structured interview with Ms. Uwimana held at her residence in Kigali. The interview session which was recorded using a tape recorder lasted about one hundred minutes. This was subsequently transcribed for purposes of presentation.