Corneille survived one of the most horrific events in modern
world history. At the age of 17, his reality was shattered after he lost his
entire family during the Rwandan genocide that claimed nearly one million lives
in a span of 100 days. After years of reconstructing his life, Corneille began
to use music as a form of therapy to heal himself and others. The
international R & B sensation recently sat down with rolling out to
discuss his awe inspiring survival and his U.S. debut album, The Birth of
Corneille. –amir shaw
What was the Atmosphere like in Rwanda prior to the genocide of 1994?
The conflict in Rwanda was never simple. It was in 1990 that
things started heating up. People from the Tutsi tribe [who] had been cast away from
Rwanda since 1959 wanted to come back militarily. The uprising started in the
north. We stayed in the capitol, so we didn’t feel the impact of the conflict
until 1994.
Did anyone have any idea of the catastrophic violence that
would occur?
We were [among] the people who were oblivious to what was
happening. For us, the privileged, we didn’t see it coming. It started with the
killing of Melchior Ndadaye and several high-ranking members [who] were executed. It
soon became the genocide that we know of today. People came to my house and my
entire family was killed. I was able to escape with the exodus to the Congo. I
eventually got in touch with a family in Germany. Friends of my family
eventually took me in.
How did you begin to rebuild your life?
My first step was survival, and a part of survival is denial.
As humans, we are not equipped to handle those things. Then I felt survivor’s
guilt. That stayed with me for a long time. In 1997 I moved to Canada and I
began rebuilding my life through music. In 2002 I released my first French
record that had success in France. My musical career as a recording artist
started there. It was a process. In 2005 I met my wife and my denial phase
began to end. Only now can I think about reconciling with that country. I don’t
know when I’ll be going back. I know I’m not ready now.
What is the basis for The Birth of Corneille?
The Birth of Corneille is an album that came from a
desire to own my story again. With my success in France, my story was put out
there and it became bigger than what I could have predicted. I lived in the shadow
of my persona. I wanted to go back to the language and culture that influenced me,
so I decided to do an R&B record. I didn’t know how I would come up with
new material in English. I still have things to say about myself, so I talk a
lot about love and relationships. I talk about the insecurity, fear and pain
that comes with love. It’s all about us figuring out who we are.
