Artist of the Month: Mihney
Poise celebrates Nelly Mihney, a Cameroonian artist who ranked highly in the publication's October ranking of female artists, particularly for untapped potential and fashion sense. The piece documents her recent signing to Eben Entertainment, a Gabonese label, and traces her musical journey from independent work to this major label deal.
In October last year, we published a list ranking 9 female Cameroonian artists (Gasha, Reniss, Ewube, Daphne, Nabila, Mihney, Blanche, Montess, and Askia) under 7 criteria (Vocal quality/uniqueness, Sexiness/Attractiveness, Public Charisma/Attitude,Star Power/ Celebrity Image, Untapped Potential, Stage Presence, and Fashion Sense).
Notably, Mihney ranked fourth under Untapped Potential and second under Fashion sense. We see her living up to our rankings -first by being scouted by a Record label with a considerable amount of success in award shows and secondly a display of heightened or should I say edgy sense of fashion in her latest music video for ‘Pandemie.’ We even have word that before signing her, the label wanted to see how she looks on pictures and sent her for a photoshoot.
Mihney is a native of Mbatu in the Northwest Region where she was born. She grew up in Douala, attending Lycée Bilingue de Bonaberi before moving to Buea for her University Studies - also putting in more time into her music.
Before joining Eben entertainment, Mihney worked with OTANTIK Ent, a independent record label headed by rapper Yung Time. Under OTANTIK, Mihney released her first official single ‘Depuis Quand’ in Jun 2016. The video rests at at about 18,000 views on YouTube today. He next visual appearance was a feature on Yung Time’s Uh Uh, Uh hum a redo of American rapper E- 40’s ‘choices.’ The has video garnered close to 16,000 views till date.
Eben Entertainment is a subsidiary of Eben Industries - a Gabonese company that also has mobile applications Eben Radio, Eben Music, and Eben TV in its portfolio.
Eben Entertainment was originally created in 2002 by a certain Eric Benquet. Altogether, the label has produced 9 artists with 1 MTV Africa Music Award, 2 Kora Awards, 7 Balafons Gabon Music Awards to show for their work. The label boasts two high end recording studios - one in Gabon and the other in the United States.
After a period of silence which lasted from 2010 - 2017, the label finally announced its return with the signing of Cameroonian act Mihney on the 6 of October 2017. The story is that Eric Benquet, the label owner was listening to his station, Eben radio, and heard Mihney’s song ‘Depuis Quand.’ He asked his team to reach out to her and ended up making a trip to Cameroon to meet with Mihney.
There is still a lot to be had from Mihney who has a very distinguished waggish flow and lyrical content bref, she is the industry’s ‘naughty girl.’ Even though her music genre has shifted under her new label, she seems to be comfortable trying different styles - she’s definitely a dynamic one.
Her deal is reported to be a 3 years 2 album deal so we have from now to 2020 to see if Eben still got the juice.
TeamPoise
In 2018, Cameroon's music industry was seeing growing infrastructure around artist development and international label interest. Mihney's trajectory—from independent releases through OTANTIK to a deal with an established regional label—reflects the paths available to emerging artists seeking wider reach and professional production support.
The piece captures a moment of professional validation for an artist Poise had already identified as promising. It documents how independent Cameroonian artists can attract attention from regional industry players, and offers a snapshot of label machinery and artist development as it functioned in the mid-2010s. The specific detail of a label owner hearing an artist via radio and traveling to sign her speaks to how artist discovery still worked outside algorithmic gatekeepers.