Nahreel earns Super eight nod at Coke Studio africa

Dar es Salaam. When he first hit the studios to come up with their breakthrough singles not many took them seriously, four years down the road since Bokodo was release not the same can be said of the duo.

Nahreel has since evolved into one of East Africa’s most celebrated music producers of our time. This year the multi-talented Bongo Flava artiste and producer return to Coke Studio Africa in the Super Eight category.

Nahreel will be producing original music and collaboration fusions from the following super pairings of Mr Bow (Mozambique) and Jah Prayzah (Zimbabwe) who are paired with Uganda’s Ykee Benda and Nandy (Tanzania) and Betty G (Ethiopia).

The new season is set to premiere in more than 30 countries across Africa from September this year.

Speaking on his second return to Coke Studio Africa the season is rather crazy in the sense that no one knows what to expect.

The producers are really involved in the new season in terms of their craft. I love the versatility because artists and producers have been drawn from more African countries. I also love all the artists I produced this season, they all came with new ideas. I really enjoyed working with the likes of Sami Dan from Ethiopia and Laura from Mauritius,”he says.

He adds: Coke Studio is always a learning experience for any artiste and now I feel like I am a better artiste just by interacting with the lot who always have a different vision. I have always loved producing African music.

Nahreel is among Africa’s 8 super producers enlisted by Coke Studio Africa this year and tasked with engineering music collaborations and fusions among the show’s artists drawn from 18 African countries.

The rest of the producers include Sketchy Bongo and DJ Maphorisa from South Africa, Gospel On Da Beatz and MasterKraft from Nigeria, Killbeatz from Ghana, Shado Chris from Ivory Coast and Gemini Major from Malawi.

In 2015, Nahreel produced music mash ups between Maurice Kirya from Uganda and Fid Q from Tanzania on the show.

In 2016, Nahreel was also at Coke Studio as part of Navy Kenzo made up of Nahreel and Aika and were paired alongside Mozambican rapper Dama Do Bling.

This season’s show will be broadcasted in more than 30 countries across Africa and will have artistes and producers from South Africa, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Angola, Uganda, Kenya, Togo, Mauritius, Madagascar, Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon.

The past edition featured artistes and producers from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana, Mozambique, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire and Togo. South Africa had its own show.

This year Coke Studio Africa and Coke Studio South Africa have been merged into one platform. According to Coke Studio organisers, participating artistes are chosen based on a combination of market research, radio charts, playlists and advice from industry specialists from across Africa.

Coke Studio is a non-competitive show that brings together diverse African music talent together for a world-class show. It also gives upcoming artistes the opportunity to work with some of the best local and international music talent.

The show brings together artistes of different genres, ages and regions for a music fusion experience.

The show has featured award winning artistes like Jason Derulo, Neyo and Trey Songz, who have not only mentored African musicians, but also recorded and released songs with them.