Mr. Eazi is a fast-rising award-winning Nigerian musician. He is a singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He Is the creator of Banku music, which he describes to be a fusion sound creating a mixture of Ghanaian bounce, Ghanaian highlife, and Nigerian chord progressions and patterns.
His real name is Oluwatosin Ajibade, but most people know him by his stage name Mr. Eazi or his nickname Don Eazi.
Mr. Eazi’s Profile
- Name: Oluwatosin Ajibade
- Age: 28years (19/07/1991)
- Nationality: Nigeria
- State of origin: Rivers State, Port Harcourt
- Relationship status: Dating Temi Otedola
- Occupation: musician, songwriter, entrepreneur
Mr. Eazi’s Early life
Oluwatosin Ajibade was born on 19th July 1991 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, to Mr. and Mrs. Ajibade in the south southern part of Nigeria. His father, Captain Ajibade, is a Pilot and owns an aviation consulting firm while his wife owned a small business.
He grew up in a quite an entrepreneurial home, that’s whys he’s pretty good at investing his money. Oluwatosin had some part of his primary school education in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
He completed his primary and secondary education in Lagos, where he obtained his First School leaving certificate, as well as his West African Senior School Certificate. He had a brief period in the school’s choir.
Growing up, he listened to records his dad would play for the family while having breakfast together. So, he had a thing for music from quite a very young age.
At the age of 16, Oluwatosin relocated to Ghana to further his education in 2008. While in Ghana, he attended Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana, and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Mr. Eazi’s Net worth
Mr. Eazi is regarded as one of the most influential and wealthiest artists in Nigeria, with an estimated net worth of $1.5million.
Mr. Eazi’s Personal life
Mr. Eazi is currently in a romantic relationship with Temi Otedola, daughter of Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola and sister to popular Nigerian disc jockey DJ Cuppy
Mr. Eazi’s Music Career
Mr. Eazi started recording music during his time at the university. He was featured in a track titled “My Life,” his vocals helped spice up the song and became a popular record at KNUST.
He also established a party and promotion company, which he called Swagger Entertainment. He used this platform to promote events on the campus. He graduated from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology with a BSc Degree in Mechanical Engineering when he was 23, and returned to Nigeria.
After that, He put his entrepreneurial skills to use as he started an e-commerce business and also had a short working relation with Schlumberger.
He also ventured into several businesses, including the importation of soft drinks, gold mining, and food distribution. He quit being a show promoter in 2014 after an artist failed to show up for the largest party he attempted to throw.
Mr. Eazi released his 13-track debut mixtape titled About to Blow in July 2013. Prior to the release of the mixtape, Mr. Eazi worked with producers such as Magnom, Peeweezle, Klumonsta, Nshona, D’Tunes, and E-Kelly. Mr. Eazi has featured on some collaborations such as Stay Jay’s “Baby Lace” and Lousika’s “Knockout.” The “About to blow” mixtape produced two hit singles titled “Pipi Dance” and “Bankulize.”
The recorded mixtape was produced by Klu and was released within a week. The hit song, Bankulize, was produced by DJ Juls. The song features vocals Pappy Kojo who is a Ghanaian hiplife artist.
The song marks birthed of “Banku Music.” Mr. Eazi describes Banku music to be a blend of Ghanaian highlife and Nigerian chord patterns and progressions.
Mr. Eazi officially released the remix of Bankulize in September 2016, featuring the African Giant, Burna Boy. Bankulize was a dancehall hit, and along with the other tracks in the mixtape, it helped Mr. Eazi gain recognition in the industry.
In August 2015, Mr. Eazi released another dancehall-influenced track, titled “Skin Tight.” The track was produced by DJ Juls and featured guest vocals from Ghanaian singer Efya.
A couple of artists and producers did cover and remix on the hit song, such as Nigerian producer Cobhams Asuquo, DJ Caise, and Terry G, who collaborated with Mr. Eazi to release a remix of the song.
Skin Tight was featured in an advertisement In April 2017 for the vodka brand Ciroc. Eugy featured Mr. Eazi on his 2016 hit single “Dance for Me,” and the music video was directed by Gabriella Kingsley and Vertex.
On 17 June 2016, Mr. Eazi collaborated with Ghanaian rapper Sarkodie, to release the R&B track “Anointing,” the artist just kept on making hits both on collaborative and personal projects.
There were rumors about a recording contract signed by Mr. Eazy and Starboy entertainment that was following his performance at the 2016 Ghana Music Awards, where Wizkid announced that he signed Mr. Eazi to his record label.
However, Mr. Eazi cleared the air about this in July 2017 on an interview with Star FM Ghana; he stated that he is not officially signed to Starboy, that he is only in business with the imprint.
Mr. Eazi released his second mixtape, titled Life Is Eazi, Vol. 1 – Accra To Lagos, on 10 February 2017. The mixtape, which was initially scheduled for release on 11 February 2017, made it to the number 4 spot on the Billboard World Albums chart.
The mixtape contains 14 tracks, including three bonus tracks. The project featured guest artists such as Tekno, Olamide, Phyno, Mugeez, Medikal, DJ Cuppy, Falz, and Big Lean.
Its production was handled by Maleek Berry, Young John, Masterkraft, and Legendury Beatz. The mixtape sold 200,000 copies in pre-orders.
The mixtape’s lead single “Leg Over” produced by E-Kelly was released on 2 December 2016. Stars like comedian Eddie Kadi, Maleek Berry, and Wizkid were spotted in the video for the song, and the video inspired numerous dance videos.
Till date, Mr. Eazi hasn’t been reluctant with making hits and spicing up collaborations
2019: Coachella and Empawa Africa
Mr. Eazi happens to be one of the few Nigerian artists to appear on Coachella in 2019; it was announced in January that year that Mr. Eazi will be performing at the 2019 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
In August 2019. Before the Coachella experience, Mr. Eazi signed a record deal with Diplo’s label, Mad Decent in March 2018. Afterward, he also signed a licensing deal with Universal Africa, a subsidiary of Universal Music Group.
Mr. Eazi launched emPawa Africa, an initiative designed to nurture and support up-and-coming artists from Africa; the program provides artists a platform to perform and showcase their talents and also provides funding opportunities for the artists.
It was made known that Thirty musicians would be enrolled in the first edition, and they are entitled to grant and mentorship to scale up their music career. YouTube Music is a sponsor of this initiative, and acts like Joeboy and Djerobie are benefactors of this initiative.
