19 years old Cameroonian rapper; Tenor makes history as the first Cameroonian urban artiste to be signed to a major record label, like Universal Music Africa.
Universal Music Africa is a subsidiary of Universal music Group, one of the biggest record labels in the world that hosts most of this age’s great acts like Adele, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Jay Z and more.
On the 25th of November 2017, Universal Music Africa representatives; Franck Kacou(Production Manager) and Abib M’baye(Stage director) held a press conference at the French Cultural Center Douala, Cameroon, announcing Cameroonian rapper; Tenor as their new artist.
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| Franck Kakou |
According to Universal Music Africa‘s production manager; Franck Kacou(Black Kent), they are in Africa to harness raw African talent, polish it and expose it to the world in it’s original form, meaning they have no intention of diluting the talent, by making it sound foreign or anything like that. Their goal is to make African music accessible to those who love African music in Africa and out of Africa.
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| Franck Kacou, Abib M’baye and Taphis |
On why they chose Tenor, they said Tenor has a certain originality, artistic maturity and uniqueness that makes him to standout. With the way he has succeeded to influence the youth in his short period of popularity, is a fair indication how good he can be as an ambassador of Cameroonian/African music to the world, if given the chance.
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| Brice Albin, Tenor and his Mom |
Tenor, in response was very appreciative of the opportunity. He regards it as a very big responsibility because he is conscious of the fact that this makes him a Flag bearer of the country’s music and urban culture. He thanked all his supporters, especially his mother who has been supportive of his career from the start.
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| Tenor and his mom in intense emotional hug |
As a matter of fact, when his mother walked in, there was an intense emotional moment as they hugged for over 120 seconds. It was a proud moment for her, seeing her son get to this level in his career after using her earnings to sponsor his music videos and sustain his career all this while.
When asked why she invested in her son’s music career, contrary to what many other African parents do when they see their children’s interest in the art, she responded that she had always known Tenor was different. He is the 5th and last of all her 5 children.
He started walking when he was 7 months old, started talking fluently when he was about 2 years old, and at 5 years old he wanted to be an artiste. He used to scribble stuff on pieces of paper and give to her saying “Look mom, I wrote a song for you.” She said she had seen his passion in music from childhood and when he told her that that was what he wanted to do, she did all she could to make it happen.
Tenor‘s manager; Taphis, concealing the financial details to the record deal, made the public to understand that the terms of the contract are very beneficial to Universal Music Africa and Tenor.
It is worthy to note that Tenor is still going to be working with his original team, he didn’t replace any of his team members, they would all be accompanying him on his new journey.
We are very excited for Tenor, and look forward to his new journey!
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| Most of the team: Esther Diane Naah, Brice Albin, Tenor, his mom, Franck Kacou aka Black Kent, Taphis |