Up-and-coming music producer, Dj Yo! is taking the world by storm with his remix of singer-songwriter CKay’s hit international Afrobeats track, ‘Love Nwantiti.’ The 21-year old producer received instant fame when his version of the tune garnered more than 12 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
‘Love Nwantiti’ is currently the most popular remix in the world, as its been in the Global Top 50 for weeks, and has an overall total of 260 million streams on Spotify. The remix reached instant fame after Dj Yo! decided to re-energize CKay’s original version when it became viral on Tik Tok.
The major difference in production between CKay’s original single and Dj Yo!’s remix is that the latter is more laidback. It features a slower tempo and more percussion, which gives the song more of a dance vibe. While most remixes often increase the tempo, Dj Yo’s production is more relaxed, which has contributed to it becoming more popular than the original on TikTok.
Dj Yo produced the ‘Love Nwantiti’ remix with his nephew AX’EL in less than a day on FL Studio after he heard the original version on a friend’s WhatsApp status. During the session, he created the acoustic version of the track, which features a piano instead of a guitar.
“I started working on it in the afternoon and by the night it was completed. We were planning to keep it private, but then one of our friends put it on TikTok and then in our country it went viral, with lots of videos,” Dj Yo! said about the process of remixing the tune.
“Many people told us to post it on other channels and platforms. So I posted it and CKay came back to me and we got an agreement. He told me that this remix was a great hit,” the producer also shared.
Born Yohans Ismaël Dawood, Dj Yo! hails from the island nation of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean off the coast of East Africa. He described the experience of growing up in Mauritius as being very enriching. “It’s quite a modest country in a developing way. Here music is local, there are no international opportunities. I am the first DJ in my country to have reached an international level. It’s something new for the country.
“I’m targeting an international fan base. For me, it’s a childhood dream and I don’t want to hold it just here; I want to widen it over the world. I see that now I have the opportunities,” the producer added. “Since a young age, at every party, I was not dancing like the other children – I was standing behind the DJ, watching what he’s doing.”
Dj Yo!, who produced his first track at the age of 19, cites Alan Walker, David Guetta and Marshmello as three DJs who have influenced him. “They inspired me to become a DJ and also to produce my own sound, especially Alan Walker because he’s a DJ who produces lots of different sounds.”
Moving forward in his career, the producer said he hopes to “perform in a show like Tomorrowland where I can feature with Guetta and Marshmello. Having me and them on the same poster will be a big dream.”
