Tresor on growing global footprint, working with Drake and African creatives

Tresor is the pinnacle of what Africa has to offer as he continues to make big moves in the global music scene. 

The Congolese-born has established himself as a singer, songwriter, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist over the last decade. He first garnered prominence in 2015 after releasing his single Never Let Me Go off his debut album, VII. In the last decade, he went on to shake things up by being featured on big projects for regular amapiano collaborators DJ Maphorisa and Kabza de Small, plus fashion designer Thebe Magugu, Grammy winner Black Coffee and Canadian rapper Drake.  

Tresor is also paying it forward with the renewal of Hunter’s X Jacquel Culture House (JCH), which first launched in 2022 and empowers aspirant musicians. The talent search announcement stage of the campaign happened this month with the top 10 master classes planned for next month and the top two finalists entering into a mentorship programme in June.

SMag caught up with the SA Music Awards winner: 

What has Tresor been up to lately? 

In the past three years, I’ve been more focused on growing a global footprint. I’ve been writing and collaborating with several international artists to expand my reach. I’ve also done a lot of travelling to other countries and launched a few companies in recent years. So, there has been immense growth for me as an artist in such a short space of time. 

What’s your biggest takeaway from working with Drake?

It’s been a life-changing blessing, that moment opened a lot of doors for me. Many producers want to work with me, opportunities are coming at me in ways I wasn’t expecting. Industry people want to make music with me which opens me to more travelling and new experiences. 

What’s your biggest highlight post-pandemic? 

There have been many in recent years but having about eight songs on the Billboard Top 100 as a songwriter and producer takes the cup for me. I’ve also been able to launch my incubation programme that helps the next generation of creatives to make an impact in society and the entertainment space. 

Who is your dream collaboration? 

I’ve been doing a lot of work with Ed Sheeran and he has always been someone I wanted to work with but right now, I’d love to work with Rihanna and The Weeknd for my next project. These two musicians always play outside the box and are different – they don’t conform sonically and that’s what I’m all about. I’m crossing fingers that it happens, one day.

What keeps Tresor going?

Since I was young, I’ve always known I had a greater purpose in this world which is creating a new narrative for African creatives. With a collective effort and everyone playing their part, I believe we can break the wall that had Africans blocked off from the world. Our purpose as musicians is to see ways in which we can tell our stories so graciously and help to show the bigger picture of the continent and our beautiful diaspora. 

How do you feel about African music being at the forefront? 

It’s good to finally see the world appreciating our sound but they’re quite late to the party. We’ve always had these beautiful melodies and dances that everyone is crazy about. What makes me so proud is to finally see the magnitude we hold as Africans. From culture, fashion, art, music… you can name it all, we’ve got that. One can say, "What a time to be alive" for us as African creatives because we get to reap the benefits in real time. Right now, it’s important to have all hands on deck to make sure that what we currently have will be there for generations to come. Africans have always been miles ahead of time and we need to treasure that about us.

Tell us about your ongoing collaboration with Hunter’s?

It is mainly anchored by the passion we have to nurture the youth and creatives. My key role is to help channel and guide these young creatives on how to better manage and showcase their craft/talent.  With Shekhinah and Musa Keys as my co-creatives, this platform will help these creatives to reach a new level, this will help them to own their voice and solidify their skills in order to take on the world. So many young artists lack the mentorship and knowledge hence they don’t normally reach their full potential but we (Musa, Shekhinah and I) are here to help bridge the gap however we can.