Tale of a rap star in South Africa from Dhaka

Entertainment Desk: Shahriar Chowdhury, born in Bangladesh and widely recognised as Juel Chowdhury in South Africa, has gained fame as a rap star. Raised in the historic districts of Dhaka, specifically in Gandaria, he ventured to South Africa in 1996, where he has since established himself as a prominent figure in hip-hop, rap, and house music.

Juelz’s famous hit song, ‘Show Me The Money,’ has garnered over 200K views on YouTube, and another top hit called ‘Sarab,’ a multilingual track, has 50K downloads on DataFile Host.

‘Sarab’ is a combination of Zulu, Sotho, and various African languages, as well as Hindi. His songs are particularly known for House-Kwaito and hip-hop house fusions, gaining popularity in the streets and nightclubs. Kwaito is a new genre of music, and Juelz has started to make it popular in South Africa.

His specialty lies in fusion, where he explores innovative music styles uncommon in Africa. The popular South African daily newspaper, The Daily Sun, has featured several articles on Juelz Chowdhury in their Starbuzz section on multiple occasions.

His songs and music videos play on all national radio stations, featuring South African award-winning singers Emtee and Sjava, along with famous singers Feezy DJ Tako, Smallz DJ Polas, hit-maker Masheleni Ma Ching Ching, etc.

He has shared the stage with South African legend Kwaito singer Mandoza. Juelz aims to collaborate with DJ Khaled, Lil Wayne, and Rick Ross in the near future.

Juelz is a gaming guru with TST and was featured as a BTV artiste in the serial ‘Kon Kanoner Ful.’ He was also an active band member of the band named Music Touch, playing the bass guitar. The band’s popular song is ‘Chol Koira Shob Kaira Nili Kichui Pailam Na.’

He learned to play the guitar from his friend, Mushfiq Ahmed, a vocalist in the Bangladeshi heavy metal band Rockstrata.

Juelz was an active member of Gandaria Kochi-Kachar Mela and attended Gandaria High School and College. Later, he went to Kabi Nazrul College and earned his master’s degree from Jagannath University.