Corneille~ new artist

“Music has been the place where I could go to hide and forget about the world. I couldn’t make sense of a majority of the things that happened to me, so I used music as a shield. But over time, music has become a vehicle to channel out everything that I’ve been keeping from myself for all these years. And the new album is definitely the most honest, real assessment of everything that’s happened in my life, because I’m not trying to hide as much.”—Corneille
Corneille, is a major new artist on Motown Records. Corneille Nyungura was born in Fribourg, Germany, where his parents were students. At the age of six, his family returned to Rwanda, their country of origin. “When I went to Rwanda for the first time, there was a sense of going to the place where I belonged,” he says. “But because my parents were very much Westernized, I still felt like I didn’t fit in.”
With his Dad's encouragement over his singing, Corneille realized that his desire to make a career with his singing was possible! At age 16 he made his first recording. Sadly, his parents and family was massacred in the largest genocide due to the assassination of Rwanda’s President, Habyarimana . Corneille escaped the genocide in Rwanda, and he used music as a place where he could go and forget about the world- even if it was just for a little bit. His music is jazzy, and reminds me of something you may hear in a coffee shop or martini lounge. His music is band music, R&B pop, and soul singing. His music is relaxing, and good music to calm you down after a long day. Knowing his history, the songs come to life because the songs define his past and present for the world to know who he is. His music is bits and pieces of the story of his life.
Thanks to Music Moms I was able to review Corneille's new cd: The Birth of Cornelius.