Repping for the rising drill movement in Nigeria, “Diego Costa” from TesKi’s debut EP has gone from that song that was expected to be one of the lesser-known tracks on the project, to taking the main stage and becoming the fan favorite so far.
TesKi conducted surveys before and after the release of the EP. The first one was to see what track people were most hyped for from the titles alone, the second was to see what track did it for them the most after the release, Diego Costa won both. For the pre-release survey, the familiarity of people with the name “Diego Costa” in honor of the renowned footballer could be said to be the reason for its win or probably even curiosity regarding what the name means for people who might be unfamiliar with the footballer. So TesKi had expected that it would change after the release, but it seemed to go even higher. TesKi decided to leave the online space and connect with random people or potential fans physically by hitting the streets of Lagos and playing the three songs on the EP for them. Approximately 80% of the people he met chose Diego Costa as the best, some of them automatically opening it up on the streaming platform they use and also connecting with TesKi on his socials. I am with TesKi today to briefly discuss his expectations for his debut EP pre-release, how differently things turned out post-release, and how he and his team have been reacting to the outcome so far.
What were your expectations for this EP while making it?
We brought in a lot of external ears during the making, and from their reactions alone, I knew we had something serious here. And it is not like I even rely on people’s opinions to know if my tracks are great but it is just something I wanted to do to make a balance between the part of me that does not care what people think and the part of me that knows that it takes a smart person to know that feedback is key. You need the honest opinions of others, you can filter it through your own personal and creative values but you should still get their opinions. So, as I was saying, I knew we had bangers but I thought Take It Slow was the most relatable, in terms of both the music and the lyrics, so I thought it would be the one to perform best but I mean, we can see how that is going now. (Laughs)
Exactly, so obviously, you had already built all these expectations around the EP and things seem to be going different from how you planned. How has that been for you and your team in terms of how you are reacting to it?
Yeah, honestly, we cannot be angry (laughs). Because as men, we plan but God executes. People love the EP, ‘Diego Costa’ is the favorite track of over 70% of the people that have listened so far, which has kind of scattered promotion plans a bit because we had all this content lined up for the promotion of ‘Take It Slow’, but we cannot proceed to go with our planned promotion timeline because we cannot completely ignore something the fans are desperately asking for.
What do you think is so special about the Diego Costa track that has made it scatter the plans of your team?
Hmm, let me see, I think people love confidence boosters in music. And Diego Costa is a song that is like; me and my guys, we are on to something and no one can stop us. I can say it is a drill track in terms of the genre of music but at the same time, it is not a drill at all!
Hmm… it is a Drill and it is not a Drill. That is a bar right there.
(Laughs) Yeah, because music-wise, it just gets you going because of that drill bounce but lyrics-wise, you can relate it to your industry or whatever you are trying to get into. For me, it is my confidence anthem for breaking into the music industry. Because you look at it and either it is people or situations, there are things telling you, this place is not for you. You could listen to them or you could take a step back, reinforce yourself, and get back to face that thing, situation, or person with way more confidence. So, it is not a drill, meaning we are not here to play, if we were playing before, we are serious now so please, do not play with us. Serious business only.
Wow, I think how you spoke just now, encapsulates exactly how the track feels, and speaks nothing but confidence. Thank you so much TesKi, I needed that and I am sure whoever is reading feels some level of motivation. Is there anything else you would like to say?
Yes, there is. Number one is a shoutout to a friend of mine named Rees who kind of enabled me to make the track Diego Costa. Secondly, I would like to let everyone know that even with how wide-ranged the EP sounds, it still is very much just the tip of the iceberg. And there are people with Take It Slow and the third track, Blessings as their favorites, I want you all to know that there are definitely plans for these tracks also. I would love to do a remix of Take It Slow with Flo, a UK-based group, they are amazing. I would love a remix with them and Ayra Starr, it will be amazing, trust me, I have had the whole thing playing in my head since pre-release already so by God’s grace, it will come to pass, and there is a brilliant music video concept for Blessings also. Basically, what I am saying is, watch this space and stay tuned.
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