Sunshine Gzuz, born Onugha Victor Chike, is one of the rising sensation in the Nigerian music industry hailing from the eastern part of the country. Having caught the eye of the public with the release of his highly acclaimed single “Energy” in 2020, he has continued to thrill his fans and new audiences with his infectious rhythms and wonderful songwriting.
Being one of the top RnB voices to emerge from the east recently, Sunshine Gzuz is one act that has continued to live up to expectations, doing that solely with good music at the forefront. Upon the release of his new single “I Greet You” which is his first release of any sort as an artist, since his debut EP came earlier this year, Sunshine Gzuz looks set to continue the next part of his story and so he begins this new record he says is inspired by the streets.
Your new single “I Greet You” was released on Friday. Tell us what inspired the new single and are there any expectations?
The new single dropped on Friday. It’s been bubbling already. It was a funny session because I wasn’t really interested in recording something at the time when the producer played the beat while we were in the studio. I was just there vibing to the beat and I connected to it so well, so I decided to just record something. The title “I Greet You” was inspired by the streets, that kind of way you greet friends on the street. The intention is almost similar, so I hopped on it and I recorded it. To talk about expectations now, I always do have high expectations for my releases because I know the amount of work we put in. With this new single, I’m focused on putting myself out there, reaching more people than the last time and aiming to achieve better performance in the market.
Sunshine Gzuz on his new single in the exclusive interview with Album Talks.
Sunshine Gzuz: The Trailer Blazer of the East. [Interview]
Soft highlife percussion and rhythmic synthesizers ushers in this one that leaves much lasting melodies on the production. This is a typical highlife record you mostly likely hear when it’s time to gyrate and enjoy life because of its happy production, and just in sync, Sunshine Gzuz delivers this record to his detractors in a way that he flaunts his success to their face so that they can all see how their hate has helped fueled him to prosperity.
“I be the GOAT, but na them chop grass” is one of the many subtle one liners that are usually embedded in Sunshine Gzuz’s record, and even in this track, they are scattered across in bits and pieces. Importantly, he also calls for addition of crowded vocals and background instrumentals to color his performance from behind, but he still shines bright and in charge with how he controls everything to the sound of his voice and aligns perfectly with the modern highlife production.
Sunshine Gzuz: The Trailer Blazer of the East. [Interview]
This is in fact how you open a new era of your artistic journey. On “I Greet You“, Sunshine Gzuz doesn’t follow a very maximalist approach, but instead doubles down on his sonic identity to create a record that is unmistakably him but also much more refined and outward looking in that it’s able to satisfy more parts of the demography.
Clocking in at nearly two and half minutes, it’s easy to be put on loop and also suitable for those “jollification” moments. While modern pure highlife records have found a handful of success in the mainstream, this is another one which could help the genre’s advancement. This is however a solid record which is a win for the artist.
[LISTEN]: SunshineGzuz Unveils New Single “I Greet You”