By Joe Aura
Kenyan singer Sofiya Nzau (born 20 February 1993 as Sofiya Wanjiku) is poised to make become the first Kenyan artist to perform at Tomorrowland. The prestigious event, which began over the weekend will continue until July 27, in #Boom, #Belgium.
The performance comes amid Sofiya’s first official European tour, launched following the runaway success of her global hit Mwaki. According to The Kenya Times, the song surpassed 87.4 million streams on Spotify, becoming the most-streamed Kenyan song ever on the platform.
“I love all types of music and I am really passionate about making good music.”
“My team and I create professional music from scratch for every project-creating a concept and vision for the song, understanding the mood and audience, creating unique melodies, writing, recording and editing”
After the song Mwaki became a viral hit, people began to inquire about the person behind the song. The song was credited to a Brazilian DJ, but the Kikuyu vocals hinted at a Kenyan vocalist. Soon, people discovered that Kenyan singer and songwriter Sofiya Nzau was the brains behind it.
Before her rise to fame, Sofiya Nzau worked as a street vendor and domestic helper in Thika from 2015 to 2020.
After the COVID-19 pandemic reached Kenya, she quit her jobs in December 2020 and became a songwriter. Her husband, a music producer, supported her. She wrote several songs in the Kikuyu language, which she uploaded as sound and language packages on various platforms for music producers.
In 2023, Brazilian DJ Zerb took her song Mwaki, meaning fire in English, and remixed the song as house. The song spread via TikTok and eventually became a viral hit. When it turned out that the song would be an international hit, voices were raised accusing Zerb of exploitation.
Nzau opposed this and said that she had chosen the distribution channel herself. In addition, she had made an agreement with Zerb from which she would benefit financially. She subsequently received a credit for the song in the commercial evaluation and is listed on an equal footing in the charts.
In December 2023, she also performed the song live in Nairobi. In January 2024, the video for the song was shot in Hell’s Gate National Park.
The tour kicked off with a sold-out show at #Thuishaven, #Amsterdam, where Sofiya delivered an emotional and high-energy performance.