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Sofiya Nzau and Zerb dazzling ‘Mwaki’ video shot atHells Gate National Park

By Hilary Kimuyu January 30th, 2024 2 min read

On the heels of their song’s viral success, Brazilian producer Matheus Zerbini Massa, popularly known as Zerb and Kenyan singer Sofiya Nzau have released their Mwaki hit music video.

The video was filmed against the stunning backdrop of Kenya’s Hells Gate National Park.

Mwiki which was released in November 2023, soared up music charts globally, and the duo collaborated with an India-born director for the video which is now a milestone that has taken the dance world by storm.

The song is one of the biggest cross- cultural collaborations in the Electronic Dance Music (EDM) genre yet, described by critics as “a song that will give you an undeniable earworm”.

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.

It 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

Mwaki, which predominantly features Nzau’s vocals, is in Kikuyu language.

Literally, Mwaki means fire but at its core, it’s a song of longing.

Mwaki music video is directed by Mikhail Mehra, known for his work on Major Lazer‘s iconic Lean On video.

In a statement, Mehra said that the crew traversed the park’s gorges by ropes (and avoided the local hippopotamuses) while filming in the canyons and fields.

“Everybody on the team just making miracles happen,” Mehra added. “Hopefully, we make Kenya proud, because it was a tremendous experience.”

Taking to his social, Zerb shared behind the scenes of them while shooting the video captioning; “The ‘Mwaki’ music video was shot in the beautiful Hells Gate National Park in Kenya and it was hottt. Can’t wait for you all to watch it on Monday.”