Ahmed, Wiyaala ‘collabo’ on This Is Who I Am

Entertainment of Thursday, 30 July 2015

Source: Graphic.com.gh

Ahmed  Wiyaala ‘collabo’Ahmed and Wiyaala

It was the desire to project his home country, Morocco and the rich African culture to the outside world that inspired Afrobian artiste, Ahmed Soultan, to produce the song, This Is Who I Am, which features Ghanaian musician, Wiyaala.

And the “emotional benefits” of the song brought with it good tidings when Western Union, an international money transfer company contacted him for a partnership. And the result? The company sponsoring the production of the video of the song.

The video was exclusively premiered to the media at the Movenpick Hotel in Accra on Tuesday as part of the 20 years anniversary celebrations of the Western Union.

This Is Who I Am is the first single from Ahmed’s upcoming album, Music Has No Boundaries, which will be released at the end of August.

This is Who I am is an Afrobian song, a genre which is popular in Arabian countries. The song is rendered in five different lanaguages- Darija, Amazieh, English, French and Sissala.

Recorded in Studio Hiba in Casablanca, Morocco, the song talks about the diversity of the African culture as well as its similarities which were aptly depicted in the video shot in various locations in Ghana, Morocco and Nigeria.

There are scenes of Ghana’s Independence Square, Fela Kuti’s Shrine in Nigeria as well as some historical sites in Morocco to define the theme of the song.

An excited Ahmed Soultan said the song is “to celebrate the poor people who work daily to put food on their tables, to honour the ordinary people who are not regarded as heroes and to encourage people to appreciate the virtues of hard work.”

Briefing the media about the project, he said he conceived the idea of a collaboration when he met Wiyaala at last year’s Africa Muzik Magazine

Awards(AFRIMMA) in Nigeria.

He said he was amazed by her voice. “She gave me her album and I discovered her incredible talent,” he added.

Ahmed Soultan who has worked with the likes of Femi Kuti, George Clinton, Fred Wesley, Akala and Tekitha on his upcoming album said he is also looking forward to do collaboration with some Ghanaian artistes such as Samini, Sarkodie, Stonebwoy and Efya.

Wiyaala also expressed her excitement about the song and the market value the collaboration brings to her brand.

“Every artiste seeks new markets and this collaboration has given me a new fan base and territory within this short time,” she stated.

Ahmed Soultan, a pioneer of Nayda, urban music in Morocco may not be a familiar name in Ghana but the mulitiple award winning artiste is a big brand in Arabian music circles.

Some of the awards he has received include 2013 MTV Europe Music Awards for Best Artiste North Africa & Middle East, MTV Best Africa/Middle East/India and an AFRIMMA award last year.

Albums he has to his credit are Tolerance (2005) and Code released in 2009.