International Music magazine, Billboard has projected that Tekno may well be the next Nigerian star to break into the U.S. market.
One of his biggest hits last year, ”Pana” has made waves beyond the shores of Nigeria. A-list artists like Trey Songz and Ludacris have been seen jamming to the song.
It eventually caught the attention of Imran Majid, senior vice president of A&R at Columbia Records, who signed the track and re-released it in December.
Imran had this to say: “‘Pana’ popped on to my radar through a viral video on Facebook of a couple dancing to the song on the beach,” “I heard it, loved the song, flagged it.” he added.
“It’s a bonus when an artist is coming out of a scene,” Majid adds. “There’s a network of great artists coming out of West Africa, and this music travels very quickly in the U.S., in Canada, in the U.K., throughout Europe.”
“Pana” has slowly but surely crept into American listeners’ consciousness. “You have an audience here that already know the record through the club scene — mixers, DJs,” Majid explains. “Streaming helps because you don’t have to dig, it’s much easier to access. You already have a base, and that helps spread the word of mouth until the mainstream gets it.”
This might have helped in securing his Columbia Records deal.
Wizkid paved the way for Nigerian artists to break into the international market after his ”Ojuelegba” was jumped on by Drake. The two have gone on to do more songs ”Come Closer” and the chart topping ”One Dance”.
Davido also tried it but his attempt wasn’t so successful and he seems to have resigned to his Nigerian fan base.
We are definitely keeping our fingers crossed for Tekno.
Check out the full Billboard article below:
http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/7736653/tekno-pana-interview