"Mwaki" is a song by Brazilian DJ and producer

Zerb Matheus Zerbini Massa (born 25 December 1997), known professionally as Zerb, is a Brazilian DJ and record producer. Early life Matheus Zerbini Massa was born and raised in São Paulo. During his childhood, he learned to play various instruments ...

from his third

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

(EP), ''Surrender'' (2023). It features Kenyan singer

Sofiya Nzau Sofiya Wanjiku (born 20 February 1993), known professionally as Sofiya Nzau, is a Kenyan singer and songwriter. Career Sofiya Nzau worked as a street vendor and domestic helper in Thika from 2015 to 2020. After the COVID-19 pandemic reached Keny ...

who performs the song in

Kikuyu Kikuyu or Gikuyu (Gĩkũyũ) mostly refers to an ethnic group in Kenya or its associated language. It may also refer to: *Kikuyu people, a majority ethnic group in Kenya * Kikuyu language, the language of Kikuyu people *Kikuyu, Kenya, a town in Cen ...

, a language spoken by the Bantu ethnic group native to Central Kenya. "Mwaki" was released as a single on 10 November 2023 through the

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

, Th3rd Brain. A month later, it went viral on the video-sharing service

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

Background and composition

Zerb discovered Nzau through vocal tracks she uploaded online and used it for his production of "Mwaki". "Mwaki" is a

progressive house Progressive house is a subgenre of house music that emerged in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. It is characterized by its evolving, melodic Musical form, structures, subtle Transition (music), transitions, and layered sound design.Gerard, ...

song written in the key of

G minor G minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative major is B-flat major and its parallel major is G major. The G natural minor scale is: Changes n ...

with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 120 beats per minute. The title translates to "Fire" in

Kikuyu language Kikuyu or Gikuyu ( ) (also known as Gĩgĩkũyũ) is a Bantu language spoken by the Gĩkũyũ (''Agĩkũyũ'') of Kenya. Kikuyu is mainly spoken in the area between Nyeri, Kiambu, Nairobi and Nakuru. The Kikuyu people usually identify th ...

. Nzau explained that the song is about "a woman who is in love with a man her parents are not in approval of, but she's willing to fight for him, and to cover him. Just so she can be with him. Just so she can experience love."

Music video

The music video was directed by Indian director Mikhail Mehran and filmed at

Hell's Gate National Park Hell's Gate National Park is a national park situated near Lake Naivasha in Kenya. The park is named after a narrow break in the cliffs, once a tributary of a prehistoric lake that fed early humans in the Rift Valley. It was established in 1984 ...

in Kenya. Zerb and Nzau appear in the video with a bevy of Kenyan dancers. The video was released on 29 January 2024.

Track listings

*Digital download and streaming # "Mwaki" – 3:28 # "Mwaki" (sped up) – 2:58 # "Mwaki" (slowed) – 4:09 *Digital download and streaming –

Tiësto Tijs Michiel Verwest (; born 17 January 1969), known professionally as Tiësto ( , ), is a Dutch DJ and record producer. He was voted "The Greatest DJ of All Time" by ''Mix (magazine), Mix'' magazine in a 2010/2011 poll amongst fans. In 2013, h ...

's VIP mix # "Mwaki" (Tiësto's VIP mix) – 2:40 # "Mwaki" – 3:28 *Digital download and streaming –

Major Lazer Major Lazer is an American electronic dance music and DJ trio, which includes record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. They were founded in 2008 by Diplo and Switch, with Switch leaving after three years in 2011. He was the ...

remix # "Mwaki" (Major Lazer remix) – 3:15 # "Mwaki" (Tiësto's VIP mix) – 2:40 # "Mwaki" – 3:28 *Digital download and streaming – Refreshed # "Mwaki" – 3:28 # "Mwaki" (Tiësto's VIP mix) – 2:40 # "Mwaki" (Major Lazer remix) – 3:15 # "Mwaki" (Chris Avantgarde and Kevin de Vries remix) – 4:11 # "Mwaki" ( Tyler ICU remix) – 4:02 # "Mwaki" (

Duke Dumont Adam George Dyment (born 27 August 1981), better known by his stage name Duke Dumont, is an English DJ and music producer. He is best known for his hit singles "Need U (100%)", "I Got U", "Won't Look Back (song), Won't Look Back" and "Ocean Dr ...

and Kiko Franco remix) – 2:33 # "Mwaki" (

ATB ATB or atb may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ATB (DJ) (born 1973), German DJ and music producer * Active Time Battle, a role-playing video game mechanic * Andy Timmons Band, a band led by guitarist Andy Timmons * Atelier-Théâtre Burkinab ...

Anthem remix) – 3:18 # "Mwaki" (Major League Djz remix) – 5:31 # "Mwaki" (&friends remix) – 3:54 # "Mwaki" (

Timmy Trumpet Timothy Jude Smith (born 9 June 1982), known by his stage name Timmy Trumpet, is an Australian musician, DJ, songwriter and record producer. He has become known internationally for playing the trumpet live and making use of jazz elements in dan ...

remix) – 2:57 # "Mwaki" (Mia Moretti remix) – 3:33 # "Mwaki" (Franky Wah remix) – 3:37 # "Mwaki" ( Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano remix) – 2:12 # "Mwaki" (KVSH and Dynamick remix) – 2:42 # "Mwaki" (Skytech remix) – 2:47 # "Mwaki" (Robin Tordjman remix) – 3:32 # "Mwaki" (Kordhell remix) – 1:45 # "Mwaki" (sped up) – 2:58 # "Mwaki" (slowed) – 4:09

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{reflist 2023 singles 2023 songs Number-one singles in Moldova Number-one singles in Turkey