The Norwegian duo, Nico & Vinz (Kahouly Nicolay “Nico” Sereba and Vincent “Vinz” Dery) are in the country to raise awareness on HIV through UNAids. They chose three charities, Tomorrow Trust, Ikageng-Itireleng Aids Ministry and the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation to support and work with them in fighting HIV.
“We are excited to be here to make a difference. We got involved with UNAids because of a music video that we made for the song called My Melody where we talked about the stigma around HIV and Aids. We had people in the video that had HIV and they were talking about what they go through. Later we got to meet UNAids and we were inspired by what they do. We were really inspired by the fact that they told us that it is possible to completely eradicate HIV,” said Nico.
“We are here trying to help as much as we can. It’s really cool to be an artist and use your voice to say something useful other than just singing. It makes it more purposeful. It’s great to be out there to make a difference with people. We are trying to make sure people get tested,” added Vinz.
Their music is a blend of anything from reggae to R&B and pop, so much so that it is hard to place it but the duo has its reasons.
“We are both from Norway but we have African roots. My dad is from Ivory Coast and my mom is Norwegian and his parents are from Ghana, so we incorporate those influences in our music. So you will hear that African sound mixed with European influences. So it’s difficult to place it in a box. Urban radio is playing our songs and world radio is playing our songs,” said Nico.
“The music we have played right now has everyone in mind. All the ladies, young or old, all the kids like it, too. But if I had to choose then I would go with young people. I guess because it is because we are young. We love strong melodies because that way everyone can sing along,” he added.
They love South African music and hope to be working with some local artists while they are here: “I have been listening to TKZee and M’du growing up… I know the house scene is huge around here. So we are hoping to tap into that too,” said Vinz.