Osabuohien Osaretin, majorly known by his audience as Sarz, is a Nigerian sound artiste, record producer and musician. Starting off in the music industry with a production credited to his name in Lord Ajasa’s ‘See Drama’ in 2007, Sarz has gone on to produce songs for notable artistes in the Nigerian music industry such as Wizkid, Skales, Banky W, Wande Coal and Niniola.

With tracks like ‘Jor Oh’ featuring Durella, Ruggedman, Reminisce, Ice Prince and Eldee, ‘Jaiye Jaiye, by Wizkid featuring Seun Kuti, and ‘Dance Go’ by Wizkid and 2Face, produced by him, Sarz has proven that he is one of the original OG Producers in the Nigerian music industry and has gone to make his mark in the industry. So far, he has produced hits for renowned stars such as Drake, Tiwa Savage, Chris Brown and Lojay.

Right now, he is recognized as one of the best music producers in the country and is currently cementing his place by passing the touch forward to upcoming music producers. In an effort to find the newest talents in the music, 1789, his label is collaborating with UnitedMasters with the goal of turning the spotlight on Afrobeats artistes and producers worldwide.

With this collaboration, there will be more opportunities for upcoming music artists to make a mark in the market with incentives like marketing support, playlist pitching, digital marketing and potential radio campaigns. In addition, the partnership is meant to help support artists with their earnings as it promises accountability and transparency regarding their pay.

“_Our goal is to become a bridge connecting global markets through our platform. Sarz possesses an incredible ear for talent, has an impressive track record, and is the ideal partner for us as we expand to Africa…”_Steve Stoute, the founder and CEO of UnitedMasters expressed during his interview with Billboard.

This week on Executive of the Week, we had the chance to learn more about the collaboration and what to expect with 1789 imprint with Sarz.

TTC: What is the ultimate vision for the UnitedMasters & Sarz partnership?

Sarz: The ultimate vision for the UnitedMasters & 1789 partnership is to build a platform that emerging artistes from Nigeria & Africa can stand on. They will also have the opportunities to benefit from both local and global resources.

TTC: The Sarz Academy is famed for its alum list that includes some of the leading producers in Afrobeats. What is the next step for the academy?

Sarz: The next step for the academy is to foster and develop even more talents from the country, because Nigeria is filled with a lot of talents, and this will also extend towards other African countries that need development in music production.

TTC: You’ve been around for a long time and you’ve witnessed firsthand some of the new changes in Nigerian music. What would you say has been the biggest change in terms of development of Nigerian music?

Sarz: I'd say the biggest change personally, is how we've been able to monetize our music. Overtime, this has given our creatives more power as well as the financial stability to be able to do even more than we already do.  

TTC: What will be the focus of the 1789 imprint in terms of genre and type of artistes to work with?

Sarz: 1789 is not restricted to any particular genre or style of music. Anything that sounds special and interesting ranging from Afrobeats down to R&B, alternative music goes over here. As long as it's instrumental to making people see that they can consume Nigerian music in different ways across different spectrums, as that's a major goal for 1789.

TTC: What can you say about the upcoming The Sarz Academy project and the new crops of talent coming through your system?

Sarz: This Sarz Academy project; Memories That Last Forever, is one that everyone from this last session made during the academy, they were making so much music every day, and we decided to share that to the world, so people are aware of what actually happens within the academy. Everyone from the academy is absolutely special in their own way, and I hope people get to see that from this project and give them a chance.