American hip hop and soul artist Mahogany Jones ended her one-week tour of Rwanda with a pledge to help strengthen the local music industry.

The musician, who arrived in the country on October 19, met various artists and personalities to discuss how American artists can collaborate with local artistes to help develop the country’s music industry.

Ms Jones held public concerts, master classes, lecture-demonstrations, workshops and media outreach.

The artist and her band, known as Mahogany Jones LIVE, embarked on a tour of Africa after her group won this year’s US State Department contest to become one of 12 US musical ambassadors.

The State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs sponsors the American Music Abroad Programme, which this year attracted 300 applicants.

Ms Jones said the aim of her visit was to help strengthen Rwanda’s music industry, bolster organisations for musicians, build networks and contribute to the diversity in the music scene.

“We want to create a bridge between Rwanda and the US using music. We would like to collaborate with different Rwandan artists and even record several songs, which we can promote in the US,” Ms Jones told Rwanda Today.

Performance

On the performance of African music in the US Ms Jones said there are some parts of the country that love it especially in “major cities like New York where I come from we love African culture as a whole.”

Mahogany Jones LIVE performed at the National University of Rwanda in Butare. They had modern musical instruments and DJ Sean Blu was on hand to bring out the band’s best sound.

Lauren Johnson, the band’s drummer and percussionist, delighted the crowd with her hip hop style drumming skills.

The show started on time at 7pm and ran for two hours with Mahogany Jones LIVE performing nonstop. The University’s main auditorium was filled with students and hip hop lovers.

The band’s Africa tour started in Zambia from September 29- October 5; Botswana on October 6-11; Uganda from October 12-18; Rwanda October 19-26 and will end in Ethiopia from October 27- November 5.

Band members

The members of Mahogany Jones LIVE are Mahogany Jones, Lauren Johnson, Rosyln Welch and DJ Sean Blu.

Mahogany Jones (EMCEE and vocals) is an arts educator and wordsmith phenomenon. Lauren Johnson (drummer and percussionist) was born and raised in Detroit. It was during her younger years that her father picked up on her love for music and armed her with pots, pans, and wooden sticks.

Rosyln Welch (EMCEE and vocals) was born in Guyana and raised in New Jersey. She has travelled widely, which has helped her to discover and develop her own unique style.

DJ Sean Blu has released several Mix tapes including Good Times, City Is Mine, and The New Regime. He was the only “Gospel” DJ selected in the 2007 Pepsi Scratch Off/ DJ Battle Competition, for which he was named a semi-finalist.