Success came at the speed of broadband for producer Menace. In 2014, the Manchester, UK native got home after an exhausting day as a mobile phone technician, firing up his computer to craft a beat as a way to unwind. Just as he’d been doing for the past few years, he uploaded the instrumental titled “Maniac” to his YouTube page to somewhat little acclaim—unlike his other videos, which had racked up millions of views, this one had only accrued around 10,000 clicks, a dud by his standards. But within a year’s time, he got contacted by one interested buyer: the manager for Brooklyn rapper Desiigner, who recorded raps over the darkly-shade track and renamed it as “Panda.”
[wpex click for full bio]Almost overnight, “Panda” became 2016’s biggest rap smash, thanks to superstar Kanye West adapting the song for inclusion on “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 2,” a standout on the chart-topping The Life of Pablo. “Panda” soon took on a life of its own, vaulting to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 after just nine weeks on the tally, continuing on earn triple platinum certification and crushing digital streams, earning nearly 400 million listens on Spotify and more than 120 million views on YouTube. “I was shocked,” says Menace (real name Adnan Khan). “‘Panda’ I know has exceeded numbers far and been really big. But I believe in myself where I can top that again.”
There’s far more to Menace than just his breakthrough smash. The 22-year-old, who describes his sound as a fusion of grime and rap, has been fascinated by music ever since he was a kid, taking cues from his father who would play Michael Jackson and Billy Ocean around the house. While some producers take an interest in rappers at first, Menace was more intrigued by the music that accompanied it, loading beats onto an MP3 player from Dr. Dre and Scott Storch. “I’m very fond of how instrumentals are made,” he explains. “I was thinking to myself, why do beats in general play a big part of production on a track? From listening to instrumentals, I was doing a lot of research of how to make instrumentals.”
In 2007, he started crafting beats with a mini keyboard attached to his computer at just 13 years old, and two years later, he began sharing his music with the world by uploading his creations to the web. By his estimate, no one took notice until 2013, when A&Rs began reaching out for his tracks and he sold his first beat. It started out as a way to make pocket change on the side of his day job, supplying instrumentals to artists like The Outlawz’s Young Noble, but soon barreled into a more lucrative opportunity as interest picked up and his confections attracted more interest.
In the wake of his achievements with “Panda,” Menace is focused on building his career beyond the smash single. He’s signed a publishing deal with Stargate’s Stellar Songs Publishing in May, putting him on a roster that includes stars like Charli XCX, Fetty Wap and Sam Smith. With studio time already clocked with musicians including Lenny Kravitz and Ty Dolla $ign, Menace is ready to show the world what he’s made of. “I think ‘Panda’ is a big thing, but I just see it as a milestone in my career, because this is my debut anyway,” he says. “That paves the way for greatness. I’m just waiting for the next hit.”
[/wpex]Press Releases
Menace, Producer of the 4x Platinum 🐼 “Panda,” Releases Beat Tape
Manchester-based Producer Menace Earns a Triple-Platinum Plaque For Panda
“Panda,” the Menace-Produced Number One Hit, Certified Platinum by the RIAA
“Panda” Producer, Menace, Signs Publishing Deal with Tim Blacksmith’s Stellar Songs
Press Photos
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