There are some people you meet in campus and you can already tell they are not going to follow the normal script.
Azi Az is one of those guys.
I watched his rise while we were in campus. Back then, he was an artist – and a damn good one at that! He even won Campus Hip Hop Artist of the Year at The Hip Hop Hotspot, a show I was running back in the day.
Fast forward a few years and the man is now behind Azi-Az Jewellers, building a jewellery brand that has already found its way onto some of the biggest names in African entertainment.
And the crazy part?
He is still rising.
First, look at that client list
Before we even get into how Azi got here, let’s look at who he has already worked with.
- Diamond Platnumz
- Bensoul
- Juma Jux
- Boutross
- Harmonize
- IamLavalava
- CDQ Olowo
East Africa? Covered.
West Africa? Covered.
And if Azi keeps moving the way he is moving, it is only a matter of time before the whole continent starts knowing the name.
And those are just some of the stars he has chosen to share with us from his Instagram.
For a young jeweller from Nairobi, that is not a bad catalogue to have.
The grillzeneur behind the ice
Azi-Az is the mastermind behind Azi-Az Jewellers, and I like the word Grillzeneur because it describes what he has become.
This isn’t simply someone selling jewellery.
Look at the catalogue.
Look at the pieces.
Look at the attention to detail.
Look at the way the website is structured and, more importantly, how the ordering process works.
You can tell there is an obsession with getting the details right and delivering what the customer actually ordered.
And that matters in jewellery.
Especially when your customers are artists whose image is part of their business.
You cannot tell a superstar, “Bro, sorry, that wasn’t exactly what we discussed.”
That piece has to land.
This business runs on reputation
Jewellery is one of those businesses where word of mouth can do serious damage – or serious marketing.
One artist gets a piece.
Another artist sees it.
Another asks where it came from.
Then somebody in Tanzania wants one.
Then someone in Nigeria wants one.
And before you know it, your work is travelling further than your Instagram ads ever could.
That is what makes Azi’s journey interesting to me.
His client list is impressive, but the dedication behind the business is even more aggressive.
He isn’t just chasing celebrities.
He is building something.
But here is the plot twist
Before Azi was making grillz for artists, Azi was an artist himself.
That is something I find particularly interesting about his journey.
The same guy who once wanted to be heard through music is now helping other artists make themselves heard – visually.
And maybe that is why the transition makes so much sense.
Artists understand image.
They understand identity.
They understand that sometimes the smallest detail can become part of your entire look.
Azi understands that language.
Perhaps even better than someone who simply entered jewellery as a business.
And honestly, I could argue that he is still an artist – he has just changed the canvas.
You never really know Azi’s next move
That has always been characteristic of him.
You can never quite predict what Azi is going to do next.
But somehow, when he makes the move, you look back and think:
“Yeah… that actually makes sense.”
That is why I would bet on the guy.
Not because everything is guaranteed.
But because there is a pattern.
He was an artist.
He built relationships.
He entered jewellery.
He started working with serious names.
And now his work is appearing across different corners of the African music scene.
Maybe one day people will look back and realise the guy making grillz for some of Africa’s biggest artists was himself a pretty damn good artist.
Only Azi Az knows what that next chapter looks like.
So what are you looking for?
He has you.
Say less.
Available.
Easy.
You already know.
The catalogue is broad, but what stands out is that the work doesn’t feel like an afterthought.
And that is probably the biggest thing I took from going through the Azi-Az website.
The work is already speaking.
The social media noise will catch up.
The followers will catch up.
The wider recognition will catch up.
Because sometimes the work gets there before the marketing does.
And looking at the names Azi-Az has already worked with, the work has definitely travelled.
From a campus artist I watched perform years ago to a jeweller whose pieces are finding their way onto some of Africa’s biggest stars.
Not a bad plot twist.
And knowing Azi?
Probably not the final one.
Check out Azi-Az Jewellers and see what the man is cooking:
