Sarz

Specializing in a bright mixture of hip-hop, R&B and club beats, Nigerian producer Sarz has established himself as one of the most notable modern Afrobeat producers. Born in 1989 in Benin City, Sarz grew up listening to soul, pop, reggae, and R&B records as well as highlife and juju music. Moving to Lagos, he began producing songs for artists like Lord of Ajasa ("See Drama"), Jah Bless ("Jor Oh"), Reminisce ("Kako Bi Chicken"), and eLDee ("Today Today"), garnering his first "Producer of the Year" award in 2012. As an in-demand producer, he soon worked with musicians like Wizkid, Skales, Niniola, BNXN, and also started to pursue a solo career. He released his first EP, SINYM (Sarz Is Not Your Mate), in early 2019, followed by a collaboration with WurlD titled I Love Girls with Trobul later that year. He released two more EPs in 2021, LV N ATTN (with Lojay) and Sweetness (with Obongjayar), and put out two compilations of new talents as the Sarz Academy in 2020 and 2023.

Osabuohien Osaretin (Sarz) was born in March 1989 in Benin in Nigeria. As a teenager, he became inspired by the songs he heard on the radio and on records, listening to all kinds of Black music from soul and pop to R&B and hip-hop as well as reggae, highlife, and juju. He sang in the choir of a local church, but decided he wanted to pursue music production. Moving to Lagos, he quickly made a name for himself in the local music scene, getting his first production credit on Lord of Ajasa's single "See Drama" in 2007.

Sarz quickly went on to produce songs by Shank, Banky W, Naeto C, and Skales, among others. His production of "Jor Oh" by Jah Bless won the "Best Street Hop" award at The Headies in 2010, as did the single "Kako Bi Chicken" by Reminisce in 2012. The same year, Sarz produced the majority of eLDee's Undeniable album and won the "Producer of the Year" award at the Dynamix Awards. In 2013, he released his first own single, "Beat of Life" featuring Wizkid.

In the following years, Sarz established himself as a major producer in the modern Afrobeat genre, handling numerous singles by Wizkid, Reminisce, M.I, Niniola, Burna Boy, Wande Coal, and others. In January 2019, he released his first EP SINYM (Sarz Is Not Your Mate), again featuring Wizkid. In November, he and singer WurlD released a collaborative eight-track EP called I Love Girls with Trobul, which garnered them nominations for Songwriter of the Year and Best R&B Duo at the AFRIMA Awards. The next year, Sarz presented the first EP by The Sarz Academy, Memories That Last Forever, to present upcoming talents. In 2021, he released two new EPs: LV N ATTN, recorded with singer Lojay, and Sweetness, produced with London-based artist Obongjayar. Winning another Producer of the Year award at The Headies in 2022, Sarz presented his next Sarz Academy release in 2023, a full-fledged album titled Memories That Last Forever 2. ~ Christian Genzel, Rovi