Mr Eazi is one of the few multi-hyphenate artists in contemporary African music who’s been able to draw from his experience living in both Ghana and Nigeria, infusing each respective culture and vibe into his music, his businesses, and his philanthropy.
Eazi coined the term ‘Banku Music’ to encapsulate such exploration, which can be heard through evergreen classics like “Skin Tight ” featuring Efya, “Leg Over,” and “Pour me water.” Eazi isn’t afraid to reach across the sonic diaspora, yielding genuine collaborations (and bangers) with Bad Bunny, J Balvinand Queen Bey herself. His innovative and visionary approach has widespread cultural impact, garnering him millions of streams.
In 2021, Eazi returned with his latest project, Something Else. Billed on Audiomack as the “calm before the storm,” the EP’s five songs are a snapshot of the distinct and lively sound Mr Eazi has been cultivating, along with a glimpse into the talent of Eazi’s emPawa Africa incubator program. The EP represents a sense of freedom for Mr Eazi. The ease of Something Else may be something of a surprise, because, like many over the course of COVID-19’s lockdown period, Eazi was stuck in a creative rut. Yet, 2020 saw him shift his purpose to running emPawa as a platform rooted in funding and mentoring emerging African artists.
The pandemic made it a challenge to execute this year’s incubator, as the program was unable to convene physically. Yet, Eazi and partners still made sure to push each artist to their full potential, with the likes of Kenya’s Xenia Manasseh Zimbabwe’s Donel, and Nigeria’s Namenj being ones to watch.
emPawa Africa is bridging the resource gap between raw talent on the continent and the knowledge and support needed to level up. Eazi understands how much one can do with just a professionally recorded single and well-produced music video, so he wanted to empower these artists and give them the jumpstart he didn’t get when starting out.
“It’s evolving, and it’s been beautiful to watch over the last two years,” Eazi says of emPawa Africa’s rise. “When I launched it in 2018, I just wanted to give back. And when you start something, you then see that it is bigger than what I initially thought it was. Once you create something and give it life, it will just grow.”
