Basic HTML Version
Tunes
62 | FireFlyz
onemore person in the next show, youwill
be happier. It really makes you stronger.
Therewasalinein
AmIWrong
: “AmIwrong
for thinking that we could be something
for real?”. Were there many doubts in the
early stages?
Vinz:
I will say not from us. I know that I
have always believed in dreams ever since
I was a kid but there were doubts from
people around us and that sometimes can
affect you. If you hear it too many times
that “this is not going to work”, it might
affect you, nomatter how strong you are; it
affects you. We had a lot of people around
us who were skeptical of our dreams,
that’s why we wrote that song.
“Am I wrong for thinking that we could
be something for real? Am I wrong for
thinking this can happen? Why am I
wrong? Why is this so weird for me to
think this way?”
So, that is the foundation of the song and
we just inspire people and encourage
people to follow their hearts, follow their
dreams and their goals and do what they
wanted to do. We have been through the
same thing so anybody else can do the
same.
Intermsof themusic, has it instilledcertain
elements intoyourmusic?
Vinz:
Yes absolutely. That is what we
were trying to do. It is like a fusion of
all the things that we like – our African
background mixed with our urban hip-
hop background. That’s why you can
hear the African types of
drums and guitar in
Am
I Wrong
at the same time
with those melodies and
everything. It is just like a
blend of everything.
Nowthat thingsaregoing
well do you noticed that
yourmusichasconvinced
people aroundyou?
Nico:
Yes, it feels like that.
Am I Wrong
is probably first time we felt
that. When the song came out, people
in Norway loved the song. It was a huge
song in Norway. Then people started to
think that it could work internationally,
but they’ve never seen it work before.
Sweden picked it up afterwards, followed
by Denmark, and then Germany and all
of the other countries around Europe,
so I definitely think that we are going
somewhere and people see it now.
H
ailing
f rom Os lo,
Norway, the singing/
songwriting duo, Nico
& Vinz are an interna-
tional music sensation
who have already set
the European entertain-
ment scene on fire, tapping into the heart
of global culture bywriting and performing
songs that joyfully speak of life, love and
identity. Made up of Nico Sereba and
Vincent Dery, since their debut in 2010 at
the Emengeza Festival where they won
first place for new, emerging artists, Nico
& Vinz have topped Scandinavian charts
thanks to their extraordinary storytelling,
electrifying performances and riveting
videos. The duo have honed a unique
sound, born of their eclectic backgrounds
as both Africans and Norwegians.
WhatwastheNorwegianmusicscenelike?
Nico:
First of all, it wasn’t big at all, it was
quite small. Madcon was like the first
Norwegian rap group that really got some
attention outside of Norway and that was
not really with typical hip-hop. They were
first ones to really show hip-hop artists
that it is possible to get beyond Norway
with rap. They were like neighbourhood
stars to us when we were young, it was
like meeting stars. Everything looks much
Right In A Wrong
FireflyzspeakstoNico&Vinz, theduobehindthehitsingle
Am IWrong
that has taken the radio by storm
bigger whenwewere young and theywere
more accessible as we would always see
them around Oslo.
Was it difficult to find places where you
couldperformor justhavetheopportunity
tomakemusic?
Vinz:
We really started in 2008. Before that
in 2000, it was harder. In 2008, hip-hop had
become a mainstream
genre and we could play
in places but not for
money and not for many
people. One time I did
a show that was before
I met Nico at a school,
and I had been there the
whole day watching the
shows. I was the last to go
on stage. When I finally
got on stage and started
rapping, the lights turned on and I saw
that people were walking out, even whilst
I was still rapping. That’s crazy. You have
to learn toworkwithwhat you’ve got and
start thinking of how you can entertain
people in front of you.
Nico:
I remember some of the first gigs
that we played. Sometimes, we only had
five people as the audience. It could be
embarrassing sometimes but from there
you can only go upwards. If you have just