Coming from a background where he knows what he wants his music to stand for and pursuing is squarely has made Mr. Eazi one of the most creative and business-minded musicians we have in Africa.
The African applauses he got during his breakthrough stage in the continent were enough to limit his success, but he looked beyond the African market, strategically positioned and established himself in the international scene. In the space of two years, Mr. Eazi created an international brand for himself and he’s now recognized as one of the most sought-after musicians in Africa.
Mr. Eazi, from the onset, introduced himself as the pioneer of ‘Banku Music’, a genre of music that set him aside, kept him in his own space without any visible competition and he’s now widely recognized for the artistic creation. ‘Banku Music’ is styled by percolating rhythms and laid-back vocal, rendered in Pidgin English. However, Mr. Eazi is still not limited to his own creation alone, some of his songs still perfectly fit into Afrobeats, highlife, R&B-like vibes, African pop, global pop, hip-hop and a distinctive ballad fusion. The combination of all made him a major force that cannot be resisted when he sings.
Since the release of his Efya-collaborated track, ‘Skin Tight’ in 2015, Mr. Eazi broke into the international scene and has witnessed impressive growth abroad with wide range of audience. After the release of the song that was featured in an ad for the vodka brand Ciroc, he got a major endorsement deal with Universal Africa, a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, he’s believed to have a deal with Diplo’s ‘Mad Decent’, also got himself a deal with Apple Music to promote his second mixtape, Life is Eazi Volume 1: Accra to Lagos, released in February 2017.
Mr. Eazi’s ground was solidified in the Nigerian market by Wizkid after his record deal with Starboy Entertainment was announced at the 2016 Ghana Music Awards. It was later discovered that he had no official record deal with Starboy other than business dealings. He stormed the Nigerian Music Industry with heavy collaborations from the likes of D’Tunes, Burna Boy, Wizkid, Terry G, Davido, Tiwa Savage, 2face Idibia, Falz, Simi and many others. He eventually won the hearts of many Nigerians who are still his aficionados till date.
His Mixtapes, ‘Life is Eazi Volume 1: Accra to Lagos’ is a smart way of targeting the ‘West African market with befitting sounds, collaborations and a tribute to the two cities that influenced the evolution of his sound. The volume two of ‘Life Is Eazi’, themed ‘Lagos To London’, followed the same route as the volume one. Mr. Eazi used the mixtape to celebrate his eminent entry into the United Kingdom, which happens to be his number one streaming location on Apple Music and Spotify.
Mr. Eazi’s growth before and after ‘Skin Tight’ has indeed been unhesitating and expeditious. In 2019, he made the biggest debut of his career so far as he performed at the Coachella and didn’t fail to impress. He placed himself as a perfect symbol of African music, performing his jumbo-hit singles, ‘Skin Tight’ and ‘Surrender’ amongst other songs he featured international superstars on.
Life is definitely easy, it only requires some level of hard and smart works, just as Mr. Eazi has put into his music. He makes music more fun than usual, at times, one would want to wonder if he just enters the studio to play with the way his music connects and revolves around all markets he has successfully carved a niche for himself. The beauty of Mr. Eazi’s music is that he understands all his markets and approaches them with class and that makes it look so easy.
So, be the judge, is Mr. Eazi still as hot as or hotter than ‘Skin Tight?’