“This Is Who I Am” dropped this weekend following Wiyaala’s visit to Casablanca last month to record with Afrobian musician, Ahmed Soultan.
“This Is Who I Am” is the first single from Ahmed’s upcoming album MHNB (Music Has No Boundaries), which will be released at the end of May and features collaborations with world famous musicians like Femi Kuti, George Clinton, Fred Wesley, Akala and Tekitha.
Ahmed Soultan, who won Best Artist North Africa at the All Africa Music Awards, is a multiple award winner with credits that include wins at the 2013 MTV Europe Music Awards for MTV Best Artiste North Africa & Middle East, MTV Best Africa/Middle East/India and MTV Best Worldwide Act for which he received a nomination.
“This Is Who I Am” described by the Moroccan star as “AfroBian” in style, is a fusion of both Afro and Arabian rhythms and features four languages, English, French, Arabic and Wiyaala’s own Sissala dialect.
Asked why he had chosen Wiyaala for the collaboration, Ahmed said: “We met at AFRIMA 2014 and I heard Wiyaala’s voice; she gave me her album “Wiyaala,” and I discovered a universe,” he added:
“I’m saying, let's visit Ghana. Ghanaians, you come and visit us and every country of Africa. We need to know each other better. We hope you will enjoy Afrobian music and be curious to find out more.
And who knows, maybe we gonna win awards with this song:)” Wiyaala, who has herself garnered a whole heap of awards in the past six months including Vodafone Ghana Music Awards Best Female Vocal said: “Working with Ahmed has been a great experience and is helping me to grow as a musician. I remain determined to show that Africans can compete with the best in the world.”
“This Is Who I Am” was recorded at the Studio Hiba in Casablanca and is currently available as audio on Youtube. Next week, the making of the video will be released with a full official video due in June which is expected to be shot in Morocco and Ghana.
Listen to “This Is Who I Am” here: