Tanzania: Loui releases new single Wet

‘Wet’ is a sensual song that explores intense love and desire, with the artist portraying his partner as a confident and sexually empowered woman who he encourages to embrace her intimate side.

Speaking about what sparked the idea for the song, Loui said: “‘Wet’ is a track that celebrates the sensuality of a woman. When you’re in love, there’s a strong connection that you both share physically, and this song brings it out. The inspiration was drawn from a personal experience, because I’m definitely what you’d call a ‘lover boy’.”

Born Louis Vincent Mbullu, Loui draws inspiration from genres such as R&B, Afrobeats and bongo for his self-coined ‘Afro-bongo’ style.

“Afro-bongo is what I would describe as feel-good music with a touch of my roots, bongo, which is slang for Tanzania,” he said. “I’ve always been someone who likes to put a twist to my creativity and knew right away that it needed to come out in my sound. I draw inspiration from my upbringing and the music I was exposed to at a young age. As I grew older, I started listening to a lot of R&B from the likes of Chris Brown and Usher and would often try to mimic their style – but of course adding a twist to it.”

His collaboration with South African DJ and producer Musa Keys on the amapiano hit ‘Selema’ earned him continental recognition, with the song certified platinum in South Africa, a first for an East African artist.

“To be honest, the success of the song surpassed our initial expectations. Musa Keys was in Tanzania for a media tour and one of my friends who is close to him reached out to me. We met up, had a studio session and within 40 minutes the song was done, and now it’s still trending in South Africa and Tanzania a year later, which is very exciting and humbling at the same time.”

Loui advises aspiring musicians across the continent to never give up on their dreams if they appear to be taking too long to take shape. He says his fans can look out for more new releases this year, top on the list being his debut album, which will feature diverse sounds from R&B to reggae and Afrobeats, and a few collaborations.