Parker Ighile is stepping away from the mixing desk to grab his own piece of the spotlight.
Ighile produced "What Now" by Rihanna and "Do it like a Dude" for Jessie J, and has worked with Chip, Angel and Nicki Minaj. But it’s the music man’s association with Minaj which is the potential game-changer.
Ighile is the first signing to Minaj’s as-yet-unnamed label. And the first single, “So Beautiful,” is the first fruits of their new relationship.
“So Beautiful” is lifted from Ighile’s “Young, Dumb & 21” mixtape, which is on the slate for a 2013 release.
“I just make music for people that want to hear it and don't know where it will take me,” Ighile tells Billboard.com. “This song is an introduction to my sound, Progressive Urban Pop (P.U.P) or Progressive Afro Pop (P.A.P).”
The clip was filmed in L.A. and directed by Yasha Malekzad (Enrique Iglesias, Usher, Lil Wayne, Pitbull, Dev, Tinchy Stryder, Ludacris) for Jacuzzi films.
Ighile -- born in Britain to Nigerian parents -- is already familiar to fans of Minaj. He featured on the track "Hell Yeah" ft Parker from her November 2012 album release “The ReUp.”
What’s in store for the year ahead? “Putting ideas together for Nicki Minaj's new album. Hopefully I can make it...it's going to be a massive one,” Ighile says. There’ll also be a visit to Africa to work with some local musicians.
An 18-year-old Ighile got his first big break back in October 2009 when his co-production of “Oopsy Daisy” for Chipmunk (now known as Chip) reached No. 1 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart.