New York, New York (January 7, 2016). International dancehall star Konshens rang in
the New Year in Rwanda, where he was scheduled to perform at Amahoro stadium. Performing for the first time in Rwanda, Konshens headlined the 8th annual
End of Year Party, where thousands of fans poured in to see the dancehall star.
Prior to his performance, Konshens took the time out to visit the Memorial Museum in Kigali. The Kigali Genocide Memorial commemorates the Rwandan genocide in 1994. In 100 days, from April to July 1994, between 500,000 and one million Rwandans, predominantly Tutsis, were massacred when a Hutu extremist-led government launched a plan to wipe out the country’s entire Tutsi minority and any others who opposed its policies. After visiting the memorial Konshens posted on his social media,
” One of the worst tragedies ever, I saw things today that I’ve never seen before and to
think it was just a few years ago in civilized times. My heart cried. The level of growth of
the country is nothing short of a miracle. Respect Rwandan people. Strong!”
Later that day , Konshens would headline his first show for the new year in a country he
never performed in before. Gates opened at 4pm and it was evident very early, this would
be a successful event. Thousands of fans lined up waiting to get as close as possible
to the artist they hear in the late night hot spots in Rwanda.
“I love Konshens, I want to hear Winner, Gyal a Bubble, Linky, and Bad Gyal, oh and I
want to hear Gyal Ting says one fan while waiting on line to get in.
It was now showtime, stadium was filled with approximately 20 thousand screaming fans, and from side stage all you heard was “How dah party yah look suh”. That got the fans in a frenzy, they began jumping, putting chairs in the air and showing different signs of appreciation and love for Konshens anticipating his entry onto the stage. Konshens entered the stage and the energy was felt from start to finish as he performed for over an hour
many of his hits.
“It was an epic show though he left when I still wanted him on stage till morning at least” says Queen Mutoni a reveler.
“It was really a great show and I enjoyed every second of the show” says Rukundo Frank.
Before ending his performance, Konshens would request for all lights to be dimmed and
for all fans to turn on a phone light, a lighter in a moment of silence for his friend,
dancehall artist J Capri who recently passed away.
Konshens is the 5th musician from Jamaica to perform live for Rwandans after Shaggy,
Sean Paul, Beenie Man and Brick&Lace. Konshens is set to headline a concert in Chicago on Friday, February 5th, at The Shrine featuring Hip Hop superstar Trina.
