Rufftone: This is why I've not released any music for 10 years

It has been 10 years since Roy Smith Mwatia aka Rufftone released his last song, Mungu Baba. The singer says his hiatus is not due to a lack of passion for music but rather a response to systemic injustices within the creative industry. In this interview, Rufftone talks about the ongoing challenges, such as inadequate compensation from Collective Management Organisations (CMOs) and the dominance of foreign artists in local markets. 

Rufftone reveals that his love for music was influenced by his parents, and speaks out on his strong instinct to protect his family from the negative impacts of social media.

1. It has been over five years since your last release. What have you been up to during this time?
I have been a little passive in my music career because of the same old injustices. The frustrations in the creative space are what inspired my political ambitions. The laws meant to govern this industry are poor, and there are no structures, and this only hurts the artists.

When retired President Uhuru Kenyatta was still in office, artists whose music were featured on Safaricom’s Skiza Tune platform petitioned the government for a higher share of the revenue generated from the service. We pushed for intermediaries such as Collective Management Organisations (CMOs) to help us attain that but to date they are yet to comply. Kenya is still a free market where any foreigner can perform, and that shows we are not protecting our creatives. For instance, if I was to go perform in Nigeria, I can’t hold a concert in Abuja Main Stadium without talking to the leading gospel players, bishops and pastors in Nigeria. It is only in Kenya where we have a major percentage of foreign artists performing in the country without restrictions.  These are some of the things I am frustrated about.

I am not saying that we shouldn’t celebrate content from, let's say, Hollywood, but it should be regulated. Why should foreign musicians advertise products sold in the Kenyan market when we have our own artists? So, when people ask me where I disappeared to, I say I am making noise about the loopholes that exist in the creative space.

2. How was your transition from secular to gospel music, and how would you rate your success as a Kenyan gospel musician?
I started singing in 2002 and I can tell you for free that by now I would have been in the obituaries section had I not moved to gospel music. Of all the people I began singing secular music with, 70 per cent are dead. Many died of drug abuse. It has taken God. I will give credit where it is due. God is the one who saved me from the secular space. He is the one who has sustained my career to this day.

Many ask me whether I am scared of becoming irrelevant. Well, my Bible tells me that the people who know their God shall perform exploits. It has taken the hand of God to make my songs remain relevant 20 years on. Nowadays, some hit songs don't even last three months. Sometimes songs go viral without any attachment to the artist. People know the song, but they don't know who it belongs to.

My success is measured by the number of souls that I direct to heaven, to the cross. That is my contract. The Bible says, seek ye first, and the rest shall follow, so I strive to direct as many souls to Christ as I can. It is not about how many houses, how many cars, or how big my name is because the Bible says, what will it benefit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul? And I think that is where the problem we are having with the gospel industry stems from. It has gotten to a point where gospel artists measure success by the riches they’ve accumulated instead of how many people they have taken to heaven.

3. How has your childhood influenced your music?
Both my parents loved music. My father had a music shop and he is the one who introduced us to Rhumba. He would play Franco, Koffi Olomide…that is how we got to know those artists. We sometimes served customers in that music shop, and that is when we discovered other genres like kwaito, reggae, soul and pop music, Michael Jackson, and the rest.

My mother was not very musical but she would sing or hum whenever she was doing her chores. Or a song would play on the radio and she would sing along. Having been born in Nairobi but raised in the village, we didn't have the resources to convert music into a career.

When I was in high school, I remember being told to look for a white collar job because music doesn't pay in Kenya. Even today people ask me, apart from music, what else do you do? I have never had anyone ask the president, ‘what else do you do?’ It shows how much people look down on artists.

4. Why is it so important for you to protect your family and children from social media?
That is my responsibility. It is important because there are crazy people out there. The system is out to corrupt the innocent ones. Just as I have a mandate of making sure people get saved and know Christ, some people have been given the opposite task – of making sure that people go to hell. So it is a battlefield. As the parents, you have the final say on whether your child knows God or not.

I don't even want people to know how many children I have. When they reach 18 years, they can make an informed decision on whether or not they want to become celebrities. I don't want to abuse their innocence.

5. Have you identified the position you will run for in the 2027 general elections?
I will vie for Makadara MP. I was born in Eastlands. I grew up in Umoja, Buruburu and Makadara estates and many people have encouraged me to represent that area. Previously, I aspired for the Nairobi senatorial seat but stepped back at the request of President William Ruto. Following the elections, I was appointed UDA Nairobi Regional Manager.