Syaz Smooth's debut EP is a tribute to his brother who died in an accident

Before he died in a traffic accident in 2024 at the age of 27, Singaporean singer-songwriter Mohd Shahfiq composed several songs that he did not get a chance to record.

- Eddino Abdul Hadi

Two of them are now part of his younger brother Syaz Smooth's debut EP, Bersamamu (With You). The EP was released on May 2, which would have been Shahfiq's 28th birthday.

Syaz, who turns 20 in June, tells The Straits Times: "When I wanted to start singing, he was the first person to help me. He was my first vocal teacher, my pillar of support, and the one who told me that I should start writing my own songs."

Shahfiq, whose full name was Mohammad Shahfiq Irman, came to fame in 2017 after winning the 10th season of Suria's reality singing competition Anugerah. After releasing singles such as Maya (2018), he studied music in Lasalle College of the Arts and planned to become a vocal coach.

He was among a group of Singaporean motorcyclists who were hit by a lorry in Johor in March 2024. Shahfiq and Mr Mohd Firman Nordin, 26, died at the scene, while four seriously injured riders were taken to a hospital in Muar. Shahfiq and his then fiancée were due to tie the knot in December 2024.

Syaz is also part of SUI, the home-grown vocal quartet that won Suria's reality singing competition Kaki Nyanyi in January.

Shahfiq's tragic and sudden death hit Syaz, who has two other older brothers and three older sisters, hard.