People are genuinely familiar with 4Play records but what really is the story behind one of the dynamic music groups in the diaspora? The music and production collective, 4Play based in London, represents a natural fusion of musical talent and cultural understanding. What started as a college project between friends; OGD, Kellz and later Jay has grown into one of the UK’s most respected music production teams.
Their approach is refreshingly simple as the group tried to detail their skill sets as OGD is said to handle drums and arrangements, Kellz brings melodies to life on piano, and Jay adds depth through bass and guitar work.
Particularly known for their contributions to NSG’s catalog, including smash hits like “OT Bop”, “Areaboyz Prayer,” “Lonely” featuring Ghana’s Sarkodie among notable records, the trio has carved out their own lane by blending Afrostreet elements with Afroswing and house music.
They’ve extended their impact beyond the studio through their “Private Society” events, where they showcase African dance music and build community connections. Having visited Ghana during the Detty December events, the trio had fun thrilling patrons at the “iMullar Sound System” and the Gold Block Party. They kicked off the year with an Afrohouse version to AratheJay’s hit “Jesus Christ II” featuring Black Sherif. The trio have over the period demonstrated how seamlessly traditional and modern sounds can work together.
In our latest edition of #RVUnMute, we talk to the trio as they share their story, finding space and audience, their endeavour over the years producing hits and the growing vision for “Private Society”
RV: 4Play has become a name synonymous with quality Afroswing production. How did the collective come together, and what inspired the name “4Play”?
4PLAY: 4PLAY name came about from a college project where we needed to group up in 4 and that’s the name we came up with, fast forward we kept the name. OGD & Kellz went to the same college but Jay joined later when Kellz brought him to the studio because they used to do live gigs together.
RV: What was the vision when you first started, and how has it evolved as you’ve gained recognition?
4PLAY: The vision was always to produce instrumentals that feel like the 80/90’s but make it modern and add live sound elements to our production as Kellz and Jay play live instruments. OGD has been producing with logic pro for years and just wanted to elevate his production with live instruments.
RV: Your music bridges Afrostreet, Afroswing, and other genres. What goes into finding that perfect balance of hard and melodic sounds?
4PLAY: It’s just what we grew up on. Growing up in the UK we grew up to different kinds of music, like Afrobeats, UK rap, Dancehall etc. So we basically just added all our influences together and that’s the sound you get.
RV: What’s the most challenging and rewarding part of fusing multiple genres like Afrobeats, Afroswing and Drill in your production?
4PLAY: I won’t say it’s challenging because it feels soo normal to fuse these genres together. Growing up in London that’s all you hear so we just love to experiment with sounds we are used to and see what we can come up with.
RV: Your production has helped shape some of NSG’s biggest hits, like “OT Bop” and “Area boyz Prayer.” What’s the secret to creating such standout tracks?
4PLAY: OT BOP was probably one of the fastest beat we made because we knew exactly what we wanted, this was after “Options”. We wanted to make a dance song so we just mixed what NSG was known for which was dance sounds like “JO” which is on soundcloud and just made it more modern with adding dancehall and reggaeton elements as that’s what we were listening to at the moment. “AREABOYZ PRAYER” needed a heartfelt track for our project so started this with the guitar to get the emotional feel then added everything after to make it more clubby.
RV: 4Play calls itself a Private Society. What does this moniker represent and how does it reflect the collective’s philosophy?
4PLAY: Private society is a community created by 4PLAY for people to come enjoy the music produced and Afro-dance events just to push African dance music. This is also because a lot of 4PLAY produced tracks are club hits so just an event to celebrate these tracks
RV: The sense of community in your videos and live events is palpable. How do you ensure this energy translates into everything you do?
4PLAY: By just doing a lot of community stuff, like free events, giveaways etc these are stuff we have already done and are stuff doing to keep the community alive.
RV: Your Private Society parties bring fans and friends together in unique ways. What’s the vision behind these events, and how have they evolved over time?
4PLAY: The vision behind private society is to make African dance music the forefront of the club scene just as big as house music. Events are gonna be solely African dance music such as Afro-house, Afro-tech, Amapiano, gqom etc.
RV: As producers and creatives, what does success look like for 4Play beyond chart-topping tracks?
4PLAY: Having successfully released tracks under 4PLAY as DJs/artists and also growing private society to a household event where over 1000 people wanna attend every event.
RV: Collaboration seems central to your work. What qualities do you look for in the artists you choose to work with?
4PLAY: We usually work with people we listen to. Everyone we have worked with there’s been a period where we were listening to their projects or music and found what we can work on together. So it doesn’t sound random.
RV: 4Play is becoming a recognizable name in the Diaspora and across Africa. What’s next in terms of expanding your influence?
4PLAY: Bringing private society to Africa and across the world and also working with more people in Africa on production and for our personal 4PLAY releases too.
