Alli Odunayo, better known by his stage name Telz, is a prominent Nigerian music producer who recently shared an encouraging tale about making a promise to his friends on the first day of 2020.
He warned them that if he didn’t become famous that year, he would die.
Surprisingly, Telz was requested to go visit Burna Boy by BNXN (previously known as Buju) just seven days afterwards. Telz took the chance to show off his skills while they were at Burna Boy’s house and ended up producing Burna Boy’s smash song, “Naughty by Nature,” on the very first day they met.
This chance encounter and Telz’s ability to make the most of it have proven to be a turning point in his career. The 26-year-old music producer revealed this inspiring journey while appearing on the latest episode of the All-Nighter podcast.
He said, “The first day of January [2020], something happened. I came back from church, I went to pick my friends up, not like I went to church. I came back and I was like, ‘Yo guys, if I don’t blow this year, I will die.’
“They said, ‘Guy, why would you say that?’ Seven days after, we were at this Ijoya camp, and then Buju [BNXN] is like, ‘Yo Telz, I’m going to Burna Boy’s house, do you want to follow me?’ I was like, yeah, sure.
“We went there. It was me, him and Tomiwa his manager and then Sess the producer. Obviously, Sess was the main producer and me, I’m just Buju’s guy who is a producer. Normally, when you go and see celebrities, they come out maybe like one or hours after, but as we opened the door, Burna was smoking. And I was like, wow! Burna Boy.
“From there, him [Burna Boy] and Sess were working on some stuff. Then me I was just there. I would take opportunities when they come. They wanted to get some food. So, Buju and Sess they left. Me I was just there. He [Burna Boy] now said, ‘Guy, you be producer?’ I said yes, I have some beats. I played these beats, we did ‘Naughty by Nature’ that day.”
Telz was one of the producers of Burna Boy’s 2020 album, ‘Twice As Tall’ which won a Grammy for Best Global Music Album.
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