I Hated Music” — Tekno Reveals His Darkest Career Moment

Afrobeats singer Augustine Kelechi, popularly known as Tekno, has opened up on the difficult period in his career when a serious health challenge forced him to take a break from music.

According to the singer during a recent interview on Cool FM Lagos, he suffered severe damage to his vocal cords as a result of acid reflux, leaving him unable to sing and keeping him away from performing for several years.

Tekno explained that he deliberately kept his health condition private, a move that caused some people, including those close to him, to wrongly assume that he had become lazy or was no longer passionate about music.

The singer revealed that the experience affected him emotionally and made it difficult for him to reconnect with his passion even after he regained his health.

He stated that he was going through one of the darkest moments of his life, noting that he eventually lost interest in music and only continued releasing songs because of his contractual obligations with Universal Music.

“Even the people closest to me thought I was lazy and didn’t want to perform. I was in a very dark place. Even after I recovered, I hated music. I didn’t want to hear music for a long time. I was only forcing myself to do music because I had a deal with Universal,” Tekno said.

The ‘Pana’ crooner added that he gradually rediscovered his love for music through reading inspirational books, which helped him overcome the emotional struggles he faced during the challenging period.

Tekno, who gained international recognition in the mid-2010s through several hit songs and collaborations, has remained one of Nigeria’s most influential Afrobeats artists.