By Charles Were
Last week, I had a solo trip to Kigali. It was a rest and recuperation trip to Kigali and across the Rwanda provinces. All I longed for was to use the trip to visit the places and people in Rwanda that my heart has been longing for. As soon as I landed, I got wind that one person I had longed to meet and sit with was in Rwanda: the famous Eric Tutsi. My search started at the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre, where one of the staff members was generous enough to translate for me part of an online interview where Eric revealed his last place of visit: the Nyundo School of Creative Art and Music in Western Rwanda. I then swiftly contacted Nyundo School, who, upon confirming that Eric was not with them, gave me contact information for yet another school, the Rwanda School of Creative Arts and Music, where he was last. Although the call with the Rwanda School principal was an assuring one, I was told to stay patient and Eric would contact me at an opportune time. As I was winding up my cold Monday evening, a message from a new number popped up on my WhatsApp, and it read, “Hi, I am Jean Bosco, a friend of Eric. We will be with Eric on Wednesday in Kigali Town. Let me know where we can meet.” That was the best news of the evening!
Throughout my trip to Nyungwe Forest National Park, then to Lake Kivu, and then to the DRC Congo and Rwanda border and back, I couldn’t hold back the joy of getting this close to Eric Tutsi, the Professor himself! For those who don’t know him, Eric has been part of Koffi Olomide’s musical journey for nearly 30 years. Eric’s name features strongly in the mention of Quartier Latin International and their earlier albums like Magie and V12. I wanted someone who’d tell the untold story of one of the greatest groups in Rumba history. Gladly, Eric offered me the chance and I enjoyed every bit of our discussion that was mainly centered on his musical journey, the interesting stories around Koffi’s famous band, QLI, and what he has been up to. In the first part, Eric narrated to me about his early life and how he joined QLI.
WHO IS ERIC TUTSI?
Sendanyoye Ezenge, better known as Eric Tutsi, was born in 1972 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Eric is half Congolese and half Rwandan since his dad was a Congolese and his mother was from Rwanda. Prior to pursuing music and joining QLI, Eric studied art and music at the Institut de la Gombe in the DRC. While in college, Eric joined a street band in Bandal, Kinshasa, called Pergola Some Some, where he was spotted by Suzuki 4x4.
HIS LIFE AS A QLI I MEMBER
Eric joined QLI on June 30, 1993, having been spotted by Suzuki 4x4, who was already a member of the newly formed QLI along with Modogo Abarambwa (backup drummer), DO Akongo (guitarist), Willy Bulla, Kaps Kapangala (drummer), Bivens Rapa, the late Jean-Louis Manzungidi (QLI's first atalaku), the late Lebou Kabuya (guitarist), Professor Didase Ibula and Aladji Makenga, among others. Eric reveals that they (Babia Ndonga and him) were strategically brought into QLI as replacements for Deese Mukangi and Nyboma during concerts. Initially, before the formation of QLI, Koffi Olomide would go for established vocalists like Deese Mukangi, Nyboma, Josky Kiambukuta, General Defao, Carlyto Lassa, and Bozi Boziana, among others, and feature them in his songs for popularity. The two (Deese and Nyboma) were based in Paris and would only feature during studio recording. This made it hard for Koffi to popularise his songs in the DRC since it was expensive to bring Deese and Nyboma for shows in Kinshasa, prompting the strengthening of QLI and the onboarding of the late Babia Ndonga and Eric Tutsi as replacements for the two.
The late Babia’s and Eric Tutsi’s admission into QLI came shortly before the release of the group’s maiden album, Etage ya Sukia. However, they did not feature in Etage ya Sukia but were swiftly incorporated into the preparations for the group’s second album, Magie. This explains the genesis of their tight friendship. They would then establish such strong vocal harmony with Babia that they backed each other in nearly all the songs they featured.
One day, as the band was rehearsing for the release of Magie album, Suzuki 4x4 did not show up for the rehearsal. Someone had to urgently play Suzuki’s part. Unbeknownst to many, the only person whose voice would get closer to Suzuki’s was a drummer, Modogo Abarambwa. When Modogo was given a mic, he did Suzuki’s parts quite well, so much so that Koffi elevated him from being the band’s backup drummer to a frontline vocalist alongside Suzuki 4x4. And as Eric revealed, that is how Modogo fully transitioned into being a frontline vocalist. However, from time to time during concerts, Koffi would still give him a chance to go back to drums. Eric also reveals that it was Modogo who played the drums in the song Sylvekou in the Magie album.
In 1994, the album Magie was released. This was the group’s second album, and it took Kinshasa by storm. To date, Eric admits that this was their best group album ever. Following the success of this album, other band members like Bouro Mpela, Sam Tshintu, Esthetique Djikampela, Pathy Pajero Bass, Mamale Tupac, Dolce Parabolique, Mboshi Lipasa, and Binda Bass were recruited alongside additional dancers. Quartier Latin International grew to nearly 45 members over that period. And we became a force to be reckoned with even as we started working on the V12 group album. In the V12, Eric says that he did three songs: Miss Toutsi, Bambino, and Zokere. After the V12 album, Eric says that he had a small disagreement with Koffi and couldn’t feature in the Loi and Ultimatum albums.
In the next part, we are going to highlight the events of the famous Olympia, Eric’s involvement with the late Madilu System and how it got him into trouble, and the story behind the famous Quartier Latin Academia and QL Academia adversely affected Koffi.
