Having started penning songs at the tender age of 11, Micho Tello is one of the fast rising music stars trying to take the Afrobeats buzz to the next level.
Born Harry Uduak Michael Omoh, Micho Tello aka Tha Illest who is originally from Akwa Ibom state but grew up in Warri, Delta started listening to songs from Hip-hop greats such as 50 Cents, DMX and M.I when he was 8 years old. These rap stars influenced his decision to take up music as a career.
Speaking on his foray into music, “Ever since I was 8 years old I’ve always loved listening to 50 Cent and DMX and then M.I came and I fell in love with his flows and his pen-game and rhyme structuring were way different, but to bottle it all up, Wizkid and Davido were my biggest inspirations they made me do music.
“I started songwriting at 11 but was still trying to develop my pen game. Fast forward to 2016, I finally recorded my first trap/rap song titled 7 Years which was inspired by Nasty C, the music came out great and everyone in my hood loved it and boom that was how I found myself doing music. I later met the legend Eedris Abdulkareem who encouraged me to talk more about the country’s hardship at least something more realistic, that prompted me to record my second single which is also my first Afro Hip Hop track titled “E De Pain Me” and I won a competition with that track, got featured on The Big Wave Magazine in Ghana back in 2019/2020”, stated Micho Tello.
Micho Tello who is a versatile artiste sings, raps and also does poetry describes his type of music as Afro Pop Music and Conscious Hip Hop.
The rising star sheds more light on his forthcoming 2 new singles. “The first track to be released is titled “Why”, it’s an Afro Pop sound, no features, just me because I want to show my audience how diverse I can be. I could be water; I could be fire. I sing and rap.
The second song is a conscious Hip Hop song titled “Acrimony” which means absolute bitterness, ill-feeling. This particular joint is most special to me because I expressed myself how I wanted, it’s a relatable piece and I can’t wait for my listeners to hear this one”.
He also talks about some of the challenges he faced while trying to climb the ladder of music success. “Well of course there are always hard-phases of life but that never weighed me down nor made me quit. One of these challenges was financial issue. I didn’t have enough cash to hit the studio so I’d just write the songs down and keep them; another was me trying to reach out to these influencers to help repost my content for more visibility/exposure but was up to no avail. I remember one time I participated at the Hennessy VS Class Rap Challenge but Ladipoe disqualified me for sounding “Foreign” as he said. It was funny but then I made a diss track and it went viral on IG back in 2022 and that was how I had my visibility on Instagram”.
“Speaking about what differentiate him from other artistes and what he considered to be his selling point, “My selling points would be my in-depth knowledge, my uniquely impeccable penmanship and my swag, I’m way different”.
Sharing his views about the global recognition Afrobeats is getting and the thriving music scene in Nigeria, the budding artiste says, “I’m so glad to be part of it. I mean it’s a good thing to be alive right now because, now we’re getting the recognition our legends have fought for so the way has been paved for all the future upcoming artistes, our sound is being acknowledged across the globe and I’m super elated”.
Micho Tello whose musical idols or mentors are Wizkid, Davido, MI Abaga, Ice Prince and Omah Lay says if he hadn’t taken up music as a profession he would have chosen to become a lawyer. He further stated that currently, his music is his hustle and stays true to it even though he is looking forward to opening his own unisex hair salon soon.
