Celebrated Nigerian singer Augustine Kelechi, popularly known by his stage name Tekno has disclosed details on why he went on break, explaining that he cracked his voice while performing one day and things took a downhill.
Speaking to Nigerian radio host and activist, Daddy Freeze, the ‘Pana’ hit-maker said he flew to London when things got serious, and then to the US. At the time, Tekno announced that he had acid reflux and he said a doctor told him it was pretty serious and the irritation affected his vocal cords.
READ ALSO: Why Tekno Miles may not sing again
“I’ve drunk all the medication, they’ve even given me reflux medication that they said I have to drink for two months or at least three months for the acid in your stomach to start to go down because all this time the acid from my stomach was coming up to my throat and irritating my vocal cords,” he said.
“So I got tired eventually, went to London, stayed a bit and then I came back to Nigeria…. This is already four months of no work, no recording, no performance, just spending money from hospital to hospital, doctor to doctor…”
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Vocal Therapy
In the emotional interview, the singer maestro revealed that he did not give up on his vocal cords as he tried what he could to save them.
“Through all this time I’ve been doing vocal therapy, speaking to different voice coaches online, just trying to see if there’s a way I can learn to sing from the inside because they said that if you can sing from your bellies… you’ll be able to perform, so I was just trying anything I could do. I was studying and at some point, I just thought, maybe I should get some surgeries done.” he added.
“In my head, I just felt this is the only option because I’ve been drinking this reflux medicine for so long and the acid keeps boiling my throat.”
Tekno said that prior to making the decision to go for the surgery, he had been having difficulties sleeping for a period of four to five months.
READ ALSO: He went diva on me: Dj Crème blasts Tekno Miles over controversial Nairobi performance
“When I sleep, the acid doesn’t come up. But since I sleep crazy, I start my sleep with the recommended position and wake up with all parts of my body in a different dimension,” he explained.
Going broke
The 26-year-old also opened up about going broke due to medical bills. He says that he had to make a difficult decision in order to balance his bills.
“Three weeks after that surgery, I had a show in Cameroon. So, it was after I go and perform in Cameroon first or I do the surgery first… why this Cameroon came up was because, at this time, there was no money again… I already blew through everything so I needed that Cameroon show because that show was paying me $110,000 for that weekend.”
“It was either I did that surgery, or go and do the Cameroon show, but I was scared because If I did Cameroon and performed with an already irritated voice just because I needed money to balance my bills, I would end up going back to where I started,” he explained.
In the interview, Tekno confirmed that he has regained his health and is set to release ‘Agege’ which features Nigerian rapper Zlatan Ibile.
Drops in 2 days #agege When Michael Jackson does legwork ??????????
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