After counting his losses at AFRIMA ’21 last year, DJ Tarico is back – bigger, better – earning two nominations at this year’s edition for “Best African DJ” and “Best Artist in Southern Africa”, right in time for news of his upcoming song, ‘Abre O Canal’ with Angolan legend, Yuri Da Cunha.
The Journey
It’s hard to imagine 2021 without the Mozambican DJ’s contributions to the Amapianosphere and his unprecedented run without Geobek Records’ George Beke, his anchor. In 2020, the two together with Nelson Tivane and Preck, brought the continent a sound for the ages, delivering a true masterpiece that tapped the energy of Africa’s still-reigning Grammy champ, Burna Boy for its remix. The result, ‘Yaba Buluku Remix’ sent the world into a frenzy, earning DJ Tárico and the Boyz big streaming numbers, awards, and several nominations.
2021 to Date – The Era of More Collaborations
But to George Beke and the award-winning Mozambican-born Tárico Caifaz Samuel Simbine popularly known as DJ Tarico, a driving force in African music and the Amapiano revolution, being a one-hit wonder was not up for deliberation. The show had to go on and so it did. Since then, things have only gotten better for DJ Tarico. Since ‘Yaba Buluku’, there has been an onslaught of cross-country collaborations courtesy of Geobek Records to branch out DJ Tárico’s discography of hits (and that of the Yaba Buluku Boyz alike) into not just one but five: ‘Number One’ (with DJ Consequence) [2021], ‘Nowhere’ (with Iyanya) [2021], ‘Tell Somebody’ (with Yemi Alade) [2021], ‘Hold You’ (with Töme) [2022] and ‘Patek’ (with Mr. Eazi & Joey B) [2022] and the soon-to-arrive, ‘Abre O Canal’ with Angolan legend, Yuri Da Cunha. All these have seemingly given DJ Tárico a renewed impetus, procuring him two nominations ahead of AFRIMA 2022 and kindling the premise of his next chapter.
The Next Chapter – ‘Abre O Canal’
Coming to fans on October 14, the Portuguese-rendered song (which translates to “Open the Doors/Channels”) is a statement of what is to come from DJ Tárico. It is bespoke of a new chapter for the Mozambican-DJ-turned-African star and will be bursting with yet another feel-good Amapiano rhythm for the dance floor, endorsed by the vocals of one of Angola’s most revered, Yuri Da Cunha!
