In Conversation with Yugo Szn
I was introduced to Yugo and his management a few years back, and I've just been watching him do his thing ever since. It's always fun to be present when you see someone's trajectory shift like this. The traction that's happened in the last few months alone is mad. "Heartbreak Hotel" with Wizkid and Drake. Spotify editorial, Apple editorial. Cosigns from people like Teddy Swims, Libianca, Connor Price, Mr. Morgan from OVO Sound. But what actually stood out to me watching all this unfold is the relationship between Yugo and his management, specifically Manny.
You see it all the time in this industry. Artists switch labels every other year. They change management. They jump ship the second things get quiet or someone else makes a bigger promise. People don't stay in situations that don't serve them. They just don't. So the fact that Yugo and Manny have built something together, that there's that kind of stability and trust there, that tells you everything about what's actually happening. The work is real because the relationship is real.
Look at N-POP as the framework. But the real story is about longevity, vision alignment, and what it looks like when an artist and their team are genuinely on the same page.
So let me start here: N-POP. What was the gap you were seeing in how African music was being presented and categorized that made you feel like you needed to build your own framework for it?
The first thing was an issue of clarification to the Recording Academy. Africa has a lot of traditional music, music that I’d like to call afrobeats. Afrobeats is an umbrella for Afrobeat, High-life, GQOM, Amapiano, soukous, and the likes. The execution & composition is original to
Africa, (use of African instruments/inspiration), and over the last few years, we have seen the rise of many ambassadors who export the culture in its raw form/elements. But there are some artists who are bringing more to the table and they are not being spotlighted.
Hence the gap. Not everyone wants to make music that sounds like that & that is okay. I have so many artists as friends who share this same view but they do not have a voice or a global platform to make their dreams come true.
And I ask that because there's K-POP, which has this whole ecosystem around it, artist development, a specific business model, visual identity. A-POP came after and kind of borrowed from that. But you're doing something different. What does N-POP actually stand for, and why does it matter that people understand the distinction when you're trying to reach global audiences?
From the onset, we decided to carve our own path and let the rest of the world catch up. My music has not been classified as Afrobeats since I came out. Our music does not fit that description because it has to have 70% - 90% African elements in production, in cadence, in language for it to be termed as ‘Afrobeats’.
I didn’t grow up in the streets, to have that “street cadence” or ‘Street OT’ haha, I’m the last born from a family of 5 kids. From Imo State, born in FESTAC, Lagos.
I’m what you’d call a Nepo baby lol in my country, but I am also surrounded by people who are resilient, who know the importance of hard work, and they are innovative and they know how to make something out of nothing.
US publications have called me a “Teen Heartthrob” . My music is inspired by lots of things, lots of people, lots of experiences that people coming from a different class or region outside of Africa, and Africans would appreciate. So we had to give it a name. #NPOP
I think the global audience cares about semantics. N-POP stands for Nigerian Pop music. It is pop music coming from a Nigerian artist. It is an umbrella for all my brothers & sisters who make polished Pop music that is fit for global export. It doesn’t necessarily need to sound like the Lion King in the words of Tyla of course.
Change is the only constant thing in the world. Growth & innovation is a huge part of change and I want you to think of us as catalysts or agents of change/progress.
When you talk about creating a "safe space for new African acts to express music with 100% originality," I'm curious what that actually means in practice. Because we're still on Spotify, we're still on Apple Music, we're still playing by the algorithm's rules. Where's the safety in that? What are you actually protecting?
Protecting the authenticity and the pride of the artists. Not everyone wants to make music that sounds that way. The point is everyone would dance to our tune. It is already happening. With me, & with Tyla.
I recently had my debut live performance in Johannesburg, Africa’s richest city, where I performed some songs from my catalogue. I taught them my songs from the stage. By the end of the show, they did not want me to leave. They showed me so much love. That’s how easy it is for the music to travel and be loved when it is polished, full of substance and it speaks to your heart.
You've got this momentum now with the editorial placements and the cosigns from people like Mr. Morgan. I'm wondering how much of that came from the positioning of N-POP as a movement versus just making great music. Does that even matter? Or is it both happening at the same time in a way that feeds each other?
That’s just the result of great music, and co-signs like that matter because it is not something money can buy. I shoot videos to covers and post them on TikTok and instagram as a way of showing the artists that “look, this is what a potential collaboration on this song would sound like. Yugoszn & Wizkid or Yugoszn & Davido, Yugoszn & Drake”, so I did one to Drake’s new record at the time “What did I miss??”. Manny posted it on his story and sent it to the crew. And the rest is history.
I’ve never heard anyone tell me that they don’t like my music. Not one song. That has never happened. So seeing that just let me know that we have been doing things right.
The "Heartbreak Hotel" placement with Wizkid and Drake, that's a huge validation moment. How did that even come about? And what was the idea behind launching it the way you did?
OK, I’m gonna have to bring this n*** here lol, Bro come and explain.
Manny joins the chat -
So Heartbreak Hotel was a series. We just founded our new company in partnership with symphonic & we decided to put something out. Manny, who loves listening to Drake, co-wrote the record with different versions. We had the interpolated version and we had to credit the goats on
there who inspired us to make that record. Shout out to Kyla by the way.
Back to Yugo -
We still have one more remix for Heartbreak Hotel X One Dance, it’s EDM/ibiza type music lol, but Manny has locked that up in the vault. After my first EP, we started putting out a lot of songs for the company Heartbreak Hotel that was co-founded by me. Manny is the boss. That was our first record under the imprint and I’m glad it had the reception & the love it got.
Looking at where you are now, what's next? You've got momentum, you've got the cosigns, you've got the foundation. What does the strategy look like from here, and what are you actually chasing?
After that, more music, more listeners, more concepts would be introduced to the music scene. We have a bunch of stuff we cannot wait to share with you.
Beyond just the music itself, what does it take to turn N-POP into a cultural moment the way K-POP is? Is it about visual identity, physical experiences, community spaces-or is it something else entirely?
Currently we (Heartbreak Hotel: Manny & Yugo) need more people to understand where we are in music right now. We need people who believe in us and would provide opportunities and collaboration. I’m bringing a bunch of new artists with new sounds with me and we have so much to give.
Was on the call with the Director and CEO of UNHurd UK. We had a chat about pop music and what the next era is. So exciting stuff ahead, And yes, let me use this as an opportunity to make a public announcement. Feel free to reach out to manny@heartbreakhotel if you want to get actively involved with what we have going on. If you feel you have any opportunities or something to contribute, don’t hesitate to reach out.
You're bringing other African artists into this. How do you actually balance that with pushing your own momentum? What does it look like for an artist who comes into the N-POP world right now?
As the trailblazers in Africa, we are carving the path for others to follow, we just introduced the concept to the world last year, Tyla turned it up a notch this year. The world has already been created. The deed has been done. Now you know what you need to sound like to be classified as an African pop artist, or a Nigerian pop artist.
The issue of classification has been fixed. Coming into NPOP, you need to be bold enough to own your sound and own your freedom of expression. The music needs to say something meaningful and be filled with substance.
What's the conversation about African music that you feel like isn't happening right now? What does N-POP let you say or do that wasn't possible before?
We call our music, pop music from Nigeria. NPOP creates a way for me to be able to answer the popular question when someone asks if it is African enough.
We are able to create a fusion sound that is polished enough for the global population. Right now the international outlets are excited for this, but I can’t say the same for the other outlets. We are getting international support first before it even starts from home, and that for me is a big win.