Some swear that among the dance hits of the summer will be a Kenyan song, sung in the Kikuyu dialect. The voice of this new hit is that of Sofiya Nzau, who has conquered half the world, from Brazil to Japan and recently also Europe, with the catchy song 'Mwaki'.
Betting on Sofiya is not just any 'insider', but one of the world's most celebrated disk jockeys, the French disco 'guru' Bob Sinclair, who today launches his new single entitled 'Digane', the result of a collaboration with the Kenyan artist.
Sofiya Nzau's story is that of so many African musicians who, in order to 'break through', now have to rely on collaborations with famous producers or deejays and hope that one of their tracks will turn into a successful remix. This happened a few summers ago with 'Jerusalema', which went from being a South African reggae tune sung by the unknown Nomcebo Zikode, to a remix by African star Burna Boy and clever propaganda on TikTok with 'viral' dances that conquered the world.

This is what Sofyia hopes to do as well, with her danceable and remixable rhymes in her own idiom.
As of today, 'Digane' can be heard on all music platforms, but this winter, lovers of African and modern sounds will not have missed 'Mwaki' (in Kikuyu it means 'fire'), the single that has elevated Nzau to the forefront of the international scene.
The story of "Mwaki" begins last year, after Sofiya nurtured her dream of music, writing songs and working as a maid and street vendor in Thika, a town north of Nairobi, until the covid period, when due to lack of work she started composing full-time, hoping to find the right channels to break through. It was her husband who convinced her to continue and support her, but on one condition: that she write songs in Kikuyu. Thus was born 'Mwaki', whose catchy theme with Sofiya's intriguing vocals, released in August 2023, became a perfect jingle for Tik Tok and was also replicated by Deejay's across Africa.

Until a well-known Brazilian producer, Zerb, put a remix of the song on one of his albums and took it to the top spots on Spotify. From there Sofiya Nzau became a celebrity.
"Sofiya Nzau's artistry goes far beyond her music: she embodies the soul of Africa. With her calm, commanding voice, she encapsulates the essence of the continent in every note she sings. His ability to tell intricate stories resonates deeply with his listeners, transcending language barriers and cultural boundaries. Her music speaks of the joy, pain and resilience of African communities, carrying the spirit of past generations and the promise of a brighter future,' the media said of her.
Mwaki, whose animated video made by a Kenyan team is shown below, a sign that talent in and around Nairobi is growing in every artistic sphere, talks about her adversarial relationship with her father, who 'becomes inflamed' because he does not want his daughter to marry. In the end, she has no choice but to advise her fiancé to run away before he sees him.