Mani Martin was born in 1988 in the Western Province of Rwanda. Aged only nine years old, his musical talents were discovered by his teacher whilst singing for his classmates in primary school. During 2000, when he was eleven, he recorded twelve gospel tracks that became popular in churches across Rwanda.

Musically Mani Martin has been greatly inspired by the likes of Cecile Kayirebwa, Jean Paul Samputu, Ismael Lo and R Kelly. ‘’Urukumbuzi’’ was his first major hit in Rwanda and neighboring countries. It won the Best Song of the Year Award in 2006. The same year, Mani was chosen as the youngest live performer to represent Rwanda at FESPAD.

Mani sings in a variety of languages, including Kinyarwanda, English, French and Swahili. He performs regularly with a live band that blends local traditional and modern musical instruments.

Mani’s first album ‘’Isaha ya Cyenda’’ was launched in December 2007. He was nominated in the PAM Awards as a best Rwandan male artist in 2007. In 2008 he was awarded Best Male Gospel Artist in the Salax Awards.

Mani’s second album “Icyo Dupfana Kiruta Icyo Dupfa’’ was released in 2010, filled with messages of peace, unity and reconciliation. Mani Martin became more popular and was often called to represent at local and international conferences and festivals.

Mani Martin’s talents extend to cinematography. He acted in ‘’Long Coat’’, a movie highlighting the post-atrocities life of Rwandans. In the local music industry, these days Mani is better known as a pop and R&B singer, with a string of hits from “Intero y’Amahoro” his third album, including Amateka, Ideni and Amazi Magari.

Mani’s fourth and most recent release is “My Destiny”’, where he mixes modern and traditional music.