Emilie Shimbali
Local duo Ethnix recently released a remix of their song ‘Open Up’, featuring Blaq Diamond from South Africa.
By Sunday, the song had received over 17 900 views on YouTube.
The collaboration came after the ‘Open Up’ hitmakers made it to the Top 3 of the Russian Bear competition, which was held online in July last year.
Ethnix garnered the most votes on social media against other artists, including South African artists Asah M and Ndjabulo, which earned them a creative collaboration with Russian Bear brand ambassadors Blaq Diamond.
The Afro-pop duo from Ladysmith, Kwazulu-Natal is composed of Ndumiso Mdletshe and Sphelele Dunywa.
One half of Ethnix, Page (the other half being Etjo) told VIBEZ! that their relationship with Blaq Diamond is a rich harvest.
“So, we flew to Johannesburg and stayed there for over a week, and that’s how the magic happened. We had a lot of good conversations with Blaq,” Page said.
The groups have known each other before the Russian Bear competition.
“Blaq Diamond listened to ‘Open Up’, and they liked it so much. Luckily enough, we won the competition,” said Page.
He added that their relationship is no longer about just “cool musicians” in neighbouring countries, but they talked about possible features in the future.
This is something to keep an eagle eye out for.
“Who knows what’s coming? We might rock the billboards”, joked Page.
“Definitely, we would want to work with them on more than just one song because they have beautiful music as well, and they were more like complementing our style.”