Mr Eazi: From banking on Banku to 'chopping life'

Having clocked more than 1.5 billion streams across different platforms, Mr Eazi is now one of the most streamed African artistes worldwide.

He is not your ordinary musician. Mr Eazi is a musical innovator, business leader and philanthropist. Forget all the hype and the debate on who is the greatest, Mr Eazi stands out as a unique African creative hitting many firsts in the innovation world.

As the revered inventor of the famed genre Banku Music, he’s now adding sports aficionado to his already extensive resume of pursuits like avid art curator and patron, real estate investor, philanthropist, artiste development, festival curator and fashion enthusiast.

His latest venture Choplife.ci marks a significant milestone in his journey within the iGaming industry, reflecting his dedication to African entertainment and digital innovation.

“I'm excited to venture into our sixth market with the launch of Choplife.ci, this signifies our continued dedication to the gaming industry," Mr Eazi said as his new venture was launched this week.  

“This marks a new era in African Entertainment. Cote d'Ivoire with its vibrant sports culture and expanding digital ecosystem, serves as the perfect Launchpad. This is from Africa to the world,” he said.

A serial entrepreneur, he’s also the founder of emPawa Africa, a talent incubator program which funds and mentors emerging African artists, and the digital music aggregator emPawa Distribution. Initiatives hailed by CNN, Rolling Stone, Billboard and Forbes for their innovative approach towards expanding African music’s global reach.

Choplife.ci is his first wholly-owned brand in the gaming industry - an initiative that aims to offer an innovative and accessible platform for sports enthusiasts. It also emphasises responsible gaming practices and reinvestment in African creativity and sports development.

The project features some of Mr Eazi’s most personal work, as he dives deeply into subjects like love, betrayal, loneliness, and family. His newest visuals feature the multiple Grammy award-winner Angélique Kidjo in the music video of Òròkórò shot in Paris.

Mr Eazi’s recent pursuits have been buzzworthy and made global news. Only last year, he released two acclaimed albums: ‘Chop Life, Vol. 1: Mzansi Chronicles’ with Kenya’s UK-based DJ Edu and his anticipated debut ‘The Evil Genius’.

He also executed a first and a one-of-a-kind multi-sensory art exhibition and listening party in Accra, Ghana, last year to commemorate the release of ‘The Evil Genius’.

He invited the public to a listening experience of his album at a multi-sensory art exhibition where they also viewed all paintings he had commissioned from 13 African artists (including from Kenya) personally handpicked by Eazi to represent each song on the album.

In December he shut down Accra once again with his Detty December Festival.

Uniting with DJ Edu to unveil the album a new music outfit, ChopLife SoundSystem, was a big move. They have since been touring Europe and curating music experiences at live events, with Mr Eazi as the MC and the primary vocalist on Choplife Soundsystem studio recordings and DJ Edu as the resident DJ.

This duo has brought a modern, African twist on sound system culture, incorporating genres like Amapiano and Afrobeats - taking Africa to the world with their mashup of sounds and unique approach of curating African parties.

Aside from music, Mr Eazi is a serial entrepreneur and the brains behind emPawa Africa and emPawa Distribution and label. These ventures have benefited countless African artists and have been a huge influence on the business of music.

It’s no wonder in 2024, Eazi received an award for the ‘Young Entrepreneur Award’ at the 2024 African Prosperity Champions Award.

Mr Eazi's eye for fashion was evident with his ‘Evil Genius’ album cover art, where he collaborated with celebrated Nigerian stylist, designer and photographer Daniel Obasi, known for his work with Beyoncé and Louis Vuitton.

Eazi has also been attending fashion shows including the 2024 Paris Fashion Week where he was accompanied by alongside partner, Temi Otedola.

As a recording artiste, the Nigerian multihyphenate is the voice behind afropop hits 'Pour Me Water', 'Skin Tight' (featuring Efya) and 'Leg Over'. He also has groundbreaking collaborations with the likes of Beyoncé, Bad Bunny and J Balvin.