DREAMING big and putting in the work, eighteen-year-old Coffs Harbour rapper Yves Manirakiza launched his debut album, Bi-Polic Notes, on Friday 1 July under his professional name, D Mani.

You’ll find the album on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.

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Yves is a year 12 student at Coffs Harbour High School where his musical talents have been encouraged.

“The process of making my album was heavily inspired by the people around me who keep telling me to keep making more and more songs, especially at school,” Yves told News Of The Area.

“The first song I made was called ‘Ratchet Mind’.

“I showed it to my friends and they all loved it.”

He decided to release it on YouTube, where he would later make another song called ‘Little Talks’, a remix to a song by Of Monsters and Men.

With the love and support of everyone around him, he decided to keep making more music.

Yves learned how to use music production software FL Studio by watching videos on YouTube.

“FL Studio is a software program used to make music, creating beats and mixing and mastering.

“Making the album took me on a journey, where I remembered things from my really harsh life I had back in Africa.

“In Africa I used to get sick a lot because of the environment I was in and writing music about those situations helps me realise how lucky I am to be here.”

Yves moved to Australia in 2015 and moved to Coffs Harbour in 2019 from Brisbane.

He named the album Bi-Polic Notes, referring to bipolar, because it doesn’t stick to one genre, rather it ranges from retro, hip hop and afro.

“Bi-Polic Notes has different moods, ranging from sad, energetic, to full-on happy and love,” he said.

Yves is new to creating music, starting just a year ago.

“Last July I began making music on my phone.

“My early influences in music were mainly American rapper Polo G and American music phenomenon Kanye West who inspired me more after watching his 2022 Netflix documentary, Jeen-Yuhs.”

His current genre of music is hip-hop with a mix of different styles such as melodic rap and trap music.

“The message I’m trying to spread is that anyone with a passion can do what they love no matter the circumstances, because when I started making music, it was on my phone and that didn’t set me back but inspired me more.

“Although I don’t currently have gigs to play at as I’m still new to this, I hope that in the near future I get to play somewhere,” said Yves.

“I want to let your readership know that I’m determined to keep chasing this music dream and see where it takes me, straight from Coffs Harbour.”

Follow D Mani on Instagram @yves_manirakiza.

By Andrea FERRARI