Tributes poured in on Wednesday August 17 after his family announced the death of Rwandan R&B singer Yvan Buravan, who died at the age of 27 from cancer, in India where he was receiving treatment. “It is with unimaginable sadness that we announce his passing this evening in India where he was being treated for pancreatic cancer,” his manager said in a message posted on social media on Wednesday.
“Yvan Buravan was an authentic soul who radiated happiness for everyone around him. He motivated us all to love our country and our culture.” The young singer-songwriter with three albums, left for India in early August to receive treatment.
Yvan Buravan, whose real name is Burabyo Yvan, was born on April 27, 1995, the last of six siblings. He sang in Kinyarwanda and English. His first album mixed Afro, RnB and pop. He was awarded the RFI Discovery Prize in 2018.
“He was part of the Découvertes RFI prize family”, underlined RFI on Wednesday in a press release. “He was an artist committed to peace, reconciliation (…) and his talent and his voice were unanimous in 2018 during the decision of the jury of the Découvertes RFI prize, chaired by the Cameroonian singer Charlotte Dipanda.” The disappearance of Yvan Buravan plunged into the “sadness” RFI teams marked by “his kindness, his generosity and his humility”.
At the start of the school year on RFI, Claudy Siar will offer a special program in “Tropical colors”, and Juliette Fievet will also pay tribute to her in “Urban legends”.
“Buravan’s death touches everyone because he truly embodied what good energy is. His music was rooted in a jovial energy and his personality stuck to that too”reacted the Rwandan musician Sherry Uwase on Twitter.
Tanzanian rapper AY, who collaborated with Buravan on their remix of the hit single Just a dance, paid homage to him on Twitter : “I mourn you until I join you. Rest In Peace Lil Bro (little brother).”
The International Organization of La Francophonie also paid tribute to Buravan, “an artist who died so young and whose talent will be remembered”.
On May 20, 2022, Yvan Buravan performed during the “Soirée francophone” alongside other great French-speaking artists from Rwanda. Today, it is with sadness that the #Francophonie say goodbye to this artist who died so young and whose talent will be remembered pic.twitter.com/2ZMdc9wkxp
— La Francophonie (@OIFrancophonie) August 17, 2022