{"id":2596,"date":"2026-07-29T13:32:56","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T13:32:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/?p=2596"},"modified":"2026-07-29T15:39:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T15:39:02","slug":"urban-boyz-to-reunite-in-rubavu-after-nearly-nine-years-apart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/29\/urban-boyz-to-reunite-in-rubavu-after-nearly-nine-years-apart\/entertainment\/","title":{"rendered":"Urban Boyz to reunite in Rubavu after nearly nine years apart"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rwanda’s celebrated music group Urban Boyz will reunite on stage for the first time in nearly nine years when the trio headlines the closing concert of this year’s MTN Iwacu Muzika Festival in Rubavu on Aug. 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The performance will bring together Safi Madiba, Nizzo Kaboss and Humble Jizzo for the first time since September 2017, when they held what would become their final concert as a trio before Safi left the group to pursue a solo career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reunion carries added significance because it will take place in Rubavu, the same city where Urban Boyz last performed together at Cotton Club on Sept. 30, 2017. That concert was staged a day before Safi’s wedding, and his departure from the group was announced shortly afterwards, ending one of Rwanda’s most influential music acts of the past decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s concert, Safi said returning to Rubavu was symbolic for the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The last time Urban Boyz shared a stage was in Rubavu,” he said. “Coming back there means a lot to us because it is where our journey together paused. Now we have the opportunity to perform together again.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Safi’s exit, Nizzo and Humble Jizzo continued performing as Urban Boyz, releasing songs including Kigali Love<\/em>, Nta Kibazo<\/em> and Turn Up<\/em>. The duo’s activities later slowed, particularly after Humble Jizzo relocated to Kenya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the split, Urban Boyz remained one of Rwanda’s most-streamed and widely celebrated groups, with fans continuing to call for a reunion over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Safi said the decision to perform together again was inspired by the support the group has continued to receive from fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Our supporters have stood by us for many years and never stopped showing us love,” he said. “We want to give something back by sharing this moment with them.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reunion is expected to revive performances of some of Urban Boyz’s best-known songs, including Sindi Indyarya<\/em>, Icyicaro<\/em>, Bibaye<\/em>, Tayali<\/em> and Till I Die<\/em>, tracks that helped define Rwanda’s contemporary pop music during the 2010s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Urban Boyz will headline the festival’s closing show alongside Marina, Amalon, Bushali, Kenny Sol, Chriss Eazy, Kivumbi King, Ross Kana and Davis D.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rwanda’s celebrated music group Urban Boyz will reunite on stage for the first time in nearly nine years when the trio headlines the closing concert […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2597,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,38,34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","category-facts_on_rwanda","category-national"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2596"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2596\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2600,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2596\/revisions\/2600"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}