Clarisse Karasira

Clarisse Karasira [born in 1997 in Masaka, Kicukiro District, Kigali] is a Rwandan singer-songwriter and former television journalist, known for music that blends traditional Rwandan and African sounds and is mostly sung in Kinyarwanda. She rose to fame in 2018 with her first hit, "Gira Neza" ("Be Kind"), and has since built a large following, with more than 29 million views on YouTube by 2022. She now lives in Saco, Maine, in the United States. Karasira grew up as the second of six children in a musical family. She sang in a children's choir and at the church where her father is a pastor, danced in a traditional troupe, and wrote lyrics from an early age. She worked as a television news reporter before leaving journalism to become a singer, and after several failed attempts in 2017, she had her breakthrough in late 2018. Among her influences are the Rwandan singer Cécile Kayirebwa, whom she has called a queen of Rwandan music, and the South African artists Miriam Makeba and Yvonne Chaka Chaka. She married her manager, Sylvain Dejoie Ifashabayo, in May 2021 and moved to Maine in November 2021. Her 2022 song "Kaze Neza" ("Welcome") was her first music video recorded entirely in Maine, and her 2023 album is titled Bakundwa ("beloved"). Quotes “I tried and failed several times. I was even about to give up,” she said. “I remember some projects in 2017 that did not blossom. It wasn’t until late 2018 that I made my first hit.” Portland is Rwandan singer Clarisse Karasira's new home Amjambo Africa (March 13, 2022) "She's a queen of our music." Speaking about the Rwandan singer Cécile Kayirebwa. A star in Rwanda before moving to Maine, singer Clarisse Karasira is finding fans in her new home Portland Press Herald (May 12, 2024) "...I only know I have put out what I have in me." Her reply when her editor asked if leaving TV news to sing was wise. Clarisse Karasira's Favorite Maine Place Down East Magazine (January 2024) “I can’t say that I took after my parents, as far as my music is concerned. I used to listen to traditional tales, idioms, songs, and plays, and I liked it so much. When I grew up, I studied literature, and found it to be so rich that I decided to dig a little deeper,” https://www.amjamboafrica.com/portland-is-rwandan-singer-clarisse-karasiras-new-home/? “If they are fashion models, that is fine. But if they choose to do music, let them spend most of their time and energy in music, not on working on their appearances. It is good to look good, but my advice for new artists, with a clear vision of what they want to do, is to save time for the music more than any other thing.” https://www.amjamboafrica.com/portland-is-rwandan-singer-clarisse-karasiras-new-home/? . “I am really thankful to the almighty Lord for granting me this talent, and for where my music is now. My plan is to reach more than that number in the future.” https://www.amjamboafrica.com/portland-is-rwandan-singer-clarisse-karasiras-new-home/? “I am not against any musical genre. Tradition is not a rhythm. It is a way of living of certain people and cultures. I put more emphasis on the message than the rhythm. I can record any rhythm,” https://www.amjamboafrica.com/portland-is-rwandan-singer-clarisse-karasiras-new-home/? External links Category:Women from Rwanda Category:Singers Category:Living people