Upcoming100: How long have you been in the music industry and has music always been a part of your life?
Nana Kottens: I have been in the music industry for over a decade. First establishing Sound Lion Records LLC to showcase and promote African talents around the world, establishing Nana Kottens Tunes Publishing and as one of the founding partners for GrinoMusic.
Music has always been part of my life. I was personally engaged in music, acting and dancing at a very young age. That passion and love for music fueled my quest to start composing my own songs, to which my music writing has improved over the past years.
Upcoming100: Was there a specific moment in your life when you thought, “Music is what I want to do”?
Nana Kottens: As a child, I had always wanted to be a musician, civil engineer and an actor. You can pretty much be sure that becoming a musician has always been part of my career aspiration. I personally did not put too much thought into it until I was heavily involved in writing my own songs, and the inspiration of writing never stopped. This episode of song writing became part of my life at a very young age, not even realizing what I was developing and cultivating. But I personally had in mind that to be a musician, you need to write your own songs, if you can.
Upcoming100: What inspires you (or your music)?
Nana Kottens: I am highly inspired by the environment I find myself in - the stories I hear daily, conversations I have with people and sometimes my personal experience. All these elements contribute immensely to what song I need to write and how to write it.
Upcoming100: Who’s on your iTunes playlist?
Nana Kottens: Wyclef, Kojo Antwi, Sugar Ranking, Sayvee, Ashango & Eni Larbi
Upcoming100: How did the idea for your single “Mama Don't Give Up” come about?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asdn574Up98
Nana Kottens: “Mama Don’t Give Up” was developed out of a concept to raise awareness for individuals and families battling with addiction. On the average, 130 Americans die every day from an overdose of opioids, the class of drugs that includes heroin, hydrocodone, codeine, morphine and fentanyl. According to the World Health Organization, about 275 million people worldwide (5.6 percent of the global population aged 15-64) used drugs at least once. You and I know someone who is battling with addiction, and showing support to the people battling with the disease will go a long way to help them in their road to recovery.
Upcoming100: There are thousands of artists trying to do what you are doing, what do you think gives you an advantage to break into mainstream America?
Nana Kottens: The creative mind of telling thrilling stories in my songs, the ability to write and create songs that have positive impact on listeners… A writing style that takes influence from both American and African culture, incorporating unique tunes and sounds in my compositions to create sounds and songs that resonate with people of all cultures and demographic.
Upcoming100: What are your thoughts on the evolution of artists and music today?
Nana Kottens: Honestly speaking, technology is having a great impact on how music is created in today’s generation. Musicians can reach a large audience around the world because of today’s technology. This has in fact affected the music business in both positive and negative ways. Overall, I think technology has impacted music in a positive way.
Upcoming100: Do you have other passions in life? Do you believe passion is an essential part of success?
Nana Kottens: I have passion for lot of things. Generally speaking, everything I do in my life always has a degree of passion to it. I have always expressed that my passion drives my dreams and my dreams drive my passion. I strongly believe that exerting passion in the things you do plays a major role in how successful you will be.
Upcoming100: What advice would you give to someone just starting out in his or her career who doesn't even have a studio to record but would love to do what you are doing now?
Nana Kottens: Never stop trying. People can always book affordable studio sessions to record their songs. That will be the best way to start out.
Upcoming100: Where can potential fans find out more about you?
Nana Kottens: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6tufKBKdBdkPi5aZ8rXmoC
https://itunes.apple.com/au/artist/nana-kottens/523506362
https://www.facebook.com/Nanakottenss/
https://www.instagram.com/nanakottens/
https://twitter.com/KottensNana
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lewis-kofi-antwi-mph-ma-905b9161
“Mama Don't Give Up”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asdn574Up98
Sound Lion Records:
https://twitter.com/soundlionrecord
https://www.soundlionrec.com/
https://www.instagram.com/soundlionrecords/
https://www.facebook.com/soundlionrecords/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/sound-lion-records-llc/
Grino Music:
https://www.grinomusic.com/
