J“Shaif Abdul Basier” was born and raised in small-town Paramaribo, which is the capital city of the Surinam Republic. Growing up among a wide variety of cultures his musical interest came to be very diverse. Referring to Surinam’s location at the heart of the strong flow of cultural currents which are so typical of the Caribbean and South-American area, Shaif says :” Surinam is a melting pot where inspiration and cultural influences come naturally, they are free natural resources”.

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Je Law Mie

 

Shaif drew the attention of people from the inner grounds of the Surinam-Dutch music scene after his first hit "Sondro Ju." FAYA records, an underground label fronted by Dj Kay in conspiracy with Delieche Records, boldly decided to execute a full fledged underground launch of Shaif. Very bold indeed when considering the fact that record companies in the Netherlands have never been to keen on launching acts from within the underground. Most acts launched by the allready-vested industry don’t seem to be able to reach an underground audience large enough to make money for themselves and the artist or reach the charts. A situation Faya records has the ambition to change. As for now... Time will tell.