We talked to Holy about new music, upcoming collaborations, European tours, and why Afrobeats should focus on building its own stages instead of trying to get American approval. He said this:
Q: What do you think people should expect from you this year?
A: This year, I want to put out a lot of new music, a lot of remixes merging Afrobeats with Afrohouse to create my own new sound. There will be a lot of Afrocircle events and a lot of touring, bringing Afrobeats to the UK and Europe.
I want to put out a lot of my own music, find my sound, and then let people hear it. We will be doing a lot of shows with well-known artists.
Q: You were a DJ in a hot air balloon three years ago. What will it be like when you reach your goals this year? A private jet or a public train?
A: [Laughs] We have plans to play a DJ set in a private boat in Ibiza. We have been working on it since last year – we just need to figure out the best time to make it happen now.
But my main focus is introducing what my sound is to the people. That’s what really matters.
Q: What collabs should we be expecting soon?
A: In terms of collabs, I want to drop my Afrohouse remix of “Alhamdulilah” by TML Vibez.
Q: About mixtapes, your audience really loves those. What should we expect this year?
A: For Valentine’s, I will be putting out my Afro House remix of “Vuli Ndela” by Brenda Fassie. It’s a big African love song and I am releasing an Afro House remix of that and promoting it.
Just before summer, we’ll drop my DJ Holy mix in Albania. In collaboration with Oma Lounge in Durres, I played a live mix in a Durres castle, so I’ll be dropping that before summer. That should be the next two items to anticipate.
Q: What do you think needs to change for Afrobeats artists or DJs to finally headline a Super Bowl event? And who do you think has the best shot at breaking that barrier?
A: Firstly, the Super Bowl is an American event, and if it happens that would be a good shot. But I think we should focus more on Afrobeat DJs being at sporting events like AFCON, World Cup – which Afrobeats artists are already doing anyway.
I would like to advocate for the local sporting events to get bigger so DJs can have the opportunity to perform on those bigger stages.
But about who has the best shot regarding all Afrobeat artists, Burna Boy is the number one performer of all Afrobeat artists right now. He can handle any stage in terms of big events. Wizkid, Asake, and Rema can also get the job done nicely.
And for DJs, I would like to put myself up for that and other DJs to headline big events across Africa and other events in Europe and in America.
New music merging Afrobeats with Afro House. Afrohouse remixes. UK and European tours. International collaborations. And a clear message: it’s time the world hears his sound.
