Mr Eazi shares new music today along with the title for his long-awaited, decade-in-the-making debut solo album.
“Advice,” produced by Ghana’s M.O.G. Beatz, is the latest single from the freshly named The Evil Genius, set for release on Oct. 27, 2023. The 16-track album is now available for pre-order.
Mr Eazi is the next artist to be featured in Vevo’s original content series Ctrl., with a passionate, defiant performance of the drill-infused “Advice” released today to coincide with the track’s release.
The lyrically rich “Advice” mentions a number of African martyrs, notably former DRC President Joseph Kabila and Ken Saro-Wiwa, a Nigerian writer and activist whose 1995 hanging sparked domestic and international outcry. “I was coming from that place of having that energy,” Eazi explains.
Recorded over a two-year period between Ouidah and Cotonou, Benin; Kigali, Rwanda; Accra and Kokrobite, Ghana; Lagos, Nigeria; London; Los Angeles; and New York City, The Evil Genius features some of Mr Eazi’s most personal work, as he dives deeply into subjects like love, betrayal, loneliness, and family, expressed through three distinctive acts.
Mr Eazi commissioned visual artists from around the continent to create a unique, physical art piece to reflect each of the album’s 16 tracks in a first-of-its-kind marriage of African music and art.
For “Advice,” he enlisted the help of Nairobi, Kenya-based artist Alphonce Odhiambo, also known as Alpha ODH, whose rebellious lyrics are reflected in his acrylic painting.
Mr Eazi personally selected 13 artists from eight African countries and invited them to contribute in a ‘informal and spontaneous’ process.
“Inviting artists to create for the album was from my passion for creativity and expression,” Mr Eazi said. “The artworks visually unlock the ideas, emotion, and energy within my music.”
The artworks created for the album will be featured in a multi-sensory exhibition experience, which debuts in Accra, Ghana, from Sept. 13-17, before heading to 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair at Somerset House in London from Oct. 12-15. Additional exhibition announcements in other cities are forthcoming.
Listen to the song below:
