“Mwaki,” the urgent progressive house track from Brazilian producer Zerb and Kenyan singer Sofiya Nzau, has been a dance world sensation since its release last November. The track hit No. 1 on Spotify’s Global Viral Chart, with more than 100,000 videos created by fans on social media, and is currently at No. 3 on the global Shazam chart.
The track — sung in the tribal Kenyan language of Kikuyu — also gained momentum with recent remixes by Major Lazer and Tiësto, with edits from Franky Wah, Major League DJz, Tyler ICU, and Chris Avantgarde forthcoming. The song’s title translates to “fire.”
“I knew ‘Mwaki’ was special, but I didn’t expect the success and love that the song has had,” Zerb said in a statement. “I’m very happy not only with the result, but also with the opportunity to spread my music to the world.”
Now “Mwaki” is coming to life even more vividly via it’s just-out video, starring Zerb, Nzau and a fleet of Kenyan dancers. Directed by by Mikhail Mehra — who helmed the classic video for Major Lazer’s “Lean On” — the video was made in Kenya’s stunning Hells Gate National Park, where the crew traversed the park’s gorges by rope (and avoided the local hippopotamuses) while filming in the canyons and fields.
“Everybody on the team just making miracles happen,” Mehra said in a statement. “Hopefully, we make Kenya proud, because it was a tremendous experience.”
The clip comes with the announcement that the São Paulo-born producer, who has performed at Lollapalooza and Rock In Rio, has signed with UTA for live representation in all territories excluding Brazil.
The track is out on the indie label TH3RD BRAIN, whose global campaign behind the track successfully broken the song in myriad countries.
“Music doesn’t have borders today. It’s inspiring that an artist in Kenya can upload her vocals to the internet, be found by a Brazilian DJ, and turned into one of the biggest dance records of the year,” TH3RD Brain’s Alec Udell tells Billboard. “As an independent label, our partner network is set up to tell stories like this across the globe. Zerb and his manager Gabriel have been at this game for over ten years so what’s next for them is what’s really exciting to us.”
Watch Zerb’s “Mwaki” music video below:
