Mr. Eazi and King Promise: See What They've Done!

<p><em>Born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, Oluwatosin Oluwole Ajibade—a.k.a. Mr Eazi—has emerged as a leading African singer, songwriter and record executive, most recently with his production and distribution platform emPawa Africa. Eazi made his name with a style he called Banku music, a fusion of Nigerian sounds and Ghanaian highlife. Afropop met him in a discussion of his 2023 album </em><a href="https://afropop.test.ejaedesign.com/audio-programs/planet-afropop-mr-eazi-gets-evil">The Evil Genius</a>. <em>Reacently, Eazi has been collaborating with Ghanaian singer King Promise, and their 2026 album together, </em>See What We’ve Done<em>, is an upbeat celebration of their collaboration and friendship. Afropop’s Banning Eyre reached Mr Eazi in Monaco and King Promise in Accra to discuss the album. Here’s their conversation.</em></p> <p><strong>Banning Eyre: Eazi, are you there? </strong></p> <p><strong>Mr Eazi:</strong> Yeah, yeah. </p> <p><strong>I don't know if you remember, we had a long chat in New York City. </strong></p> <p>Yeah, I came to your studio, right? </p> <p><strong>Well, it was sort of a home studio, yeah. </strong></p> <p>It was lovely. I remember we had a good chat. </p> <p><strong>So is Promise with us too?</strong></p> <p><strong>King Promise:</strong> Yes sir, I'm here. </p> <p><strong>Okay, good.</strong> <strong>I haven't met you before, but I've been digging the music. </strong></p> <p>Thank you, sir. <br></p> <p><strong>We don't have a whole lot of time, so I'm going to get right to it here. First of all, how did you guys meet? You guys go way back, right?</strong><br></p> <p><strong>Eazi:</strong> Yes, we met in like 2013. We had a mutual friend, Clue. Clue was one of the first people to believe in my music and he would record me in his house and I'd do choruses for him. And I met King Promise one of those days. </p> <p><strong>Ghana is kind of a second home for you, right? I remember you talked about deejaying parties in Kumasi when you were in school. You have a special relationship with Ghana, right? </strong></p> <p>Yes, I have a very, very special relationship with Ghana. I still have a home there. It's one of the places where I feel at home the most. As you can imagine, going to school, going there when I was 15, you know, there's lots of memories. I have most of my friends in Ghana as well. </p> <p><strong>Promise, tell me a little bit about your career trajectory, how you got to where you are. </strong></p> <p>I literally began my career about eight years ago. I was in school. I was pursuing a degree in business administration. My major was marketing, but I was making music, you know, as a hobby, just because I could sing and I had friends who made music. I ended up following them to the studio and started making music and the thing just kept growing. I've always loved music. Growing up, my dad was a music head; my sister was singing a choir; my mom loves to sing. So it's always been a thing, but I didn't think so much of it until I finished university. And I decided to take it as the career path that I've been chosen for, because it came to me supernaturally. I had my first hit my last year of university. So when I finished school, I was like, “Yeah, this is what I'm going to do.” And it's been an onward journey since. </p> <p><strong>It seems like both of you guys started out thinking that you weren't going to be professional musicians and then success brought you into the fold. Eazi, the last time we talked about your album, <em><a href="https://afropop.test.ejaedesign.com/audio-programs/planet-afropop-mr-eazi-gets-evil">The Evil Genius.</a></em> This album seems very different in character. It's sweet, tuneful, it's optimistic. What was the concept that started this album? </strong></p> <p><strong>Eazi:</strong> (laughs) I think King Promise actually started the album. So I'll let him lead on that. I sort of like hopped on it when he was like 60% cooked. </p> <p><strong>Promise:</strong> Yeah. I mean, there's always been a conversation about doing an album together. Ever since our initial hit songs like “Baby, I'm Jealous,” the fans have always asked for it. We always said we're going to do it. But it just happened to be the right time this time. </p> <figure><iframe loading="lazy" width="500" height="281" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/qNWQGJp8ctk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></figure><br> <p>I'm always working on music. So I kind of know the sound for myself and Eazi, because I've written songs together with him. We have to go by what we've dropped already; we already have solid chemistry and we know each other well. So basically we just had a lot of music I was working on at the time. We agreed to go with this project and I selected a few and sent them to Eazi. I'm like, “Bro, I think these are solid for now, but we can add maybe a few more.” And we get in the studio and these ones that I've already done, you know, we can just, you know, adjust and tweak. And that's exactly what we did. </p> <p>We met up in London for a couple of weeks. We stayed together, well, not far from each other, but we were literally in the studio every day for a couple of weeks. We had mainly two producers, GuiltyBeatz and <strong>Gideonite</strong>, so it wasn't too many producers. We kept it very organic working with people who I felt like could bring out the sound I wanted this album to have. You know, if you have Mr. Eazi and King Promise projects, it has to have a certain sound and GuiltyBeatz and <strong>Gideonite</strong> were the guys we chose to go with. And the rest is magic. It was really seamless. We were just having fun, wake up every morning, just get on the mic, drink tequila, you know?</p> <p><strong>That does sound like fun. Eazi, you want to add anything there?</strong></p> <p><strong>Eazi:</strong> Yeah. I've worked with Guilty from like the beginning of my career. Fun fact: I signed Guilty and he produced some of the music on my <em><a href="https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=AwrFELcApftphiADpDoPxQt.;_ylu=Y29sbwNiZjEEcG9zAzEEdnRpZAMEc2VjA3Nj?hspart=infospace&hsimp=yhs-075&type=ud-c-us--s-p-wtt2rawj--exp-none--subid-none&param1=6ysnnefjvk4orqtc9kp90hpz&p=mr+eazi+lagos+to+london&fr=yhs-infospace-075&turl=https%3A%2F%2Ftse2.mm.bing.net%2Fth%2Fid%2FOVP.fszcAj6KI83jg5kWkAm6-wHgFo%3Fpid%3DApi%26w%3D296%26h%3D156%26c%3D7%26p%3D0&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DurGj3A9ndiI&tit=Lagos+To+London%3A+The+Documentary&pos=01&vid=1b70f6e6c36494683fde1be23ff600e5&sigr=W2WGFs_zQ7C1&sigt=.5lK1tFQPlFe&sigi=_K5cm.gtzehb" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Lagos to London</a></em> project. And then I moved him from Ghana to London. So there's history there. And <strong>Gideonite</strong> has been making a lot of music with King Promise. One thing is that King Promise is able to work with producers that might not be so famous, because he just cares about the music. Gideon is young, or at least he gives a younger energy than every one of ourselves that were there. </p> <p><strong>Promise:</strong> I mean, he's younger than us, for sure. But he's like just a year or two years younger. He just hit 30. </p> <p><strong>Eazi:</strong> Oh, wow, he just hit 30. He gives energy of like Gen-Z. Anyway, I never worked with Gideon, but I understood why he came on, because like he has sweet chords, he works well with Guilty, and JAE5 was in and out of the studio. So it was just capturing the essence of what we do. We've always made lover boy music, and the session was in between two of my weddings. So I think that's what you see on the album. You wouldn't see all the subject matter you had on <em>The Evil Genius</em>, because that guy is gone. I've moved past that now. That's not where I am mentally, spiritually, and I'm happy to hear that you could feel it in the album. </p> <p><strong>You say between two of your weddings, so yeah, it sounds like things have moved on…</strong></p> <p>(laughs) Trust me, trust me. </p> <p><strong>The sound of the album is interesting. There are more acoustic instruments than I usually hear in Afrobeats, acoustic guitar and piano. There's that one song, “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnEs3Oh9PxM" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Taste</a>,” where the background almost sounds like an American folk song. There’s also a very open, sort of minimalist sound scape, putting the vocals strongly up front. Have I got that right? Is that what you were aiming for?</strong></p> <p><strong>Promise:</strong> Yeah, absolutely. It's a sound that I've been experimenting with and working on, but I wasn't trying to move away too much from what we are known for. So it's more like a fresh take or fresh look to the same sound that we make: more strings, very melodic, which has always been the case, honestly. But yeah, also occasions and situations were playing around us, like his wedding and me also going through my own phases and life. That also shaped the direction indirectly with regards to the songs that we chose. Really and truly, we didn't overthink anything. It was really just making what sounded good to the ear. </p> <figure><iframe loading="lazy" width="500" height="281" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/tkJj_ItRSrA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></figure><br> <p><strong>I was interested that you chose to revisit the Backstreet Boys “That Way.” I lived in Boston where those guys started and when that song hit, so that was nostalgic. Why did you choose that song to rework? </strong></p> <p><strong>Promise:</strong> Actually, I was driving. I think I was in Virginia working on my personal album, and my manager and I were speaking about doing a crazy sample. I had just sampled a song off my last album called <em>Favorite Story</em> that was speaking about some of the Ghanaian classics. It was like, you know what? Why don't we sample a song that was a childhood favorite, something crazy that people wouldn’t see coming. Everyone's sampling something now, but no one's really sampling boy band records that everybody fell in love with. Why not? I'm like, that's actually a genius idea. So we were just playing songs back and forth. And then when it got to that one, it just spoke to me. So literally I rushed back to the studio and told the guys. I was in the studio with JAE5 and Guilty. I had flown straight to London not so long after. And it just came out perfectly; they brought my idea to life. Then I played it for Eazi and he went crazy. </p> <p><strong>Were you surprised to hear that, Eazi? </strong></p> <p><strong>Eazi:</strong> No, actually. I remember I was in Dubai when I heard it and I just played it the whole night. A lot of our fans like us doing music together because I feel like it gives them something… There are no new boy band type Afropop African bands. When I was growing up, one of the my favorite bands next to like Westlife and Backstreet Boys was a band called Style Plus from Nigeria. So I think there's still space for that, and I think that's one of things our fans like. So I wasn't surprised. I was like, “Oh, cool.” We even need to do more because it takes us back in time. We can all remember where we were when we heard that song. It’s beautiful just to be inspired by the song, but also to have that be part of our story as well. </p> <p><strong>It seems like the South Koreans have got the the market on boy bands these days.</strong></p> <p>Yeah, that is sure. </p> <p><strong>You describe your genre as lover boy music and by going back to boy bands like Backstreet Boys. Do you feel like there's an opening there, something that's maybe missing in the Afrobeats universe? </strong></p> <p><strong>Promise:</strong> You know what? You could call it that, but really and truly, we were just speaking our truth in a way that was sweet to us. Because like he said, we're known for making sweet music obviously. My mom got married and left the streets. I'm still out here hustling. So it's like we needed to find that balance with regard to the sound, you know what I mean? Secondly, if you listen to the album, it's not really boy band music, or like just love music, because we have songs like “See What We’ve Done.” That actually speaks about the journey, where we come from and where we are now. </p> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AJXXoiSTI8&list=RD6AJXXoiSTI8&start_radio=1" rel="noopener" target="_blank"></a><figure><iframe loading="lazy" width="500" height="281" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/6AJXXoiSTI8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></figure><br><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AJXXoiSTI8&list=RD6AJXXoiSTI8&start_radio=1" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><strong></strong></a><strong>Talk about “See What We’ve Done.” </strong></p> <p><strong>Promise:</strong> “See What We've Done” is basically just brother to brother saying, “I'm proud of you.” You know, when we met in Clue's studio—it was in his bedroom, actually—and even making this album in the center of London in a penthouse, just looking out with the beautiful weather and the houses and just making music with such ease… When we started, I couldn't pay for studio sessions, which is one reason why I was at Clue's because he literally offered to record me for free, and then Eazi was there as well. We went literally from the bedroom to the world stage, so we’re just celebrating the journey, just being thankful that we're here, you know, like breaking records and setting standards from where we come from. </p> <p>So “See What We've Done” is basically just telling everybody that, regardless where you're from… Because I'm from a town in the city of Awukugua, and just going on to smash it, you know? Me being Ghanaian and African and just contributing my quota to African music. It's just so beautiful to see what Eazi has done also on a global level, charting in the U.K. and making songs that have to be mentioned when you're speaking about the Afrobeats journey breaking globally, you know what I mean? </p> <p><strong>So that's what's going on in that video. I wondered because it looks like you guys are in a boardroom, all these very well-dressed gentlemen. But this ties in with Eazi’s wedding, right? </strong></p> <p><strong>Promise:</strong> I mean that wasn't planned. You can ask Eazi. I literally landed in Iceland. There was no plan to shoot a video at that point, but I just saw us, all dressed very sharply and thought, Bro, this is a moment. We need to capture it. There was a video guy there, and I'm like, “Start filming. Let’s do this now.” Eazi was actually on his way to go get married. So this all converged and, you know? Just heading downstairs to the car and to the church is how we shot the video. I just felt like it was the right moment and I guess it worked. </p> <p><strong>Eazi? Sound right? </strong></p> <p><strong>Eazi</strong>: Yeah, 100 percent. I think that video just captured the way we were and captured the album. And it's just beautiful to be able to tell your story. You know, rappers are always able to tell their story, but for singers sometimes it's like you find a sweet, party love song, but it's not just love. It's not just love for a woman. It’s love for yourself, love for the journey especially, and love for God for bringing you there. And the video just captured that. If we had to remake that video, it's not going to be possible because you can’t capture that moment again.</p> <p><strong>Beautiful. You know, Eazi, when we first spoke we didn't talk about your production company emPawa Africa. Tell me a little bit about that and just what you’re up to bigger frame with the company.</strong></p> <p>It's so crazy. I started emPawa literally because like I was chasing advances and I wasn't getting the advances and I didn't think at the time African pop music was a priority for any label. If you think of a priority and if somebody said they wanted to do a label imprint deal with you and they were talking about three hundred thousand dollars, you know, that is not a priority for a major label. I had met with the vice president of Cobalt and afterwards I was with his chief of staff and he was like, “You know what? For what you want, I think you're going to have to do it by yourself.” And that was it. That was really it for me. But in hindsight, it took its toll on me because it was such a life project to start a proper music distribution and services company while still in the middle of your career, about to drop your second full length project. Lots and lots of lessons there. </p> <p>But it's been beautiful to be part of a lot of artists lives. The first emPawa grants started a lot of careers. I worked with King Promise and his then label Legacy Life and with emPawa we put out his first album. And then we put out everything after that. And then, we had success with Joe Boy, success with Trave, success with major league DJs from South Africa. Now we're in this moment where it's like--every company gets to this phase, and I'm in a different place as well—where you’ve got to move to the next level of what the soul of the company is.</p> <p>That’s where we are right now, setting up our first physical studio in Lagos. It's in Victoria Island, Lagos. It will be ready by the end of May. And then we've just got another space in Accra that will also have our studio. So it's moved from this startup thing where it’s like infrastructure. And I think the beautiful thing is it's not gotten external funding. So that’s also a testament to what we've done, having started an African music company that has stayed independent and been part of lots of artists’ careers and global success. You know, I made the first Afrobeats-Latino project. If you listen to reggaeton, I put together J Balvin and Bad Bunny. And that is a testament of the kind of things this company has done. So I'm just excited for the next phase. Now we have Tekno. I'm super a fan and I'm obsessed with having him. I want him to have another moment because he's super talented. </p> <figure><iframe loading="lazy" width="500" height="281" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/HcwEyLhwL54" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></figure><br> <p>So that's where my focus is, setting up that physical infrastructure. I think the next level of emPawa is infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure. </p> <p><strong>So it was a real trial getting emPawa off the ground, but now it's working. </strong></p> <p>Yeah, I mean, I just realized we've paid—well, for a lot of labels, it might not be a lot—but we've paid out over 13 million dollars in royalties. And I think starting from zero to that, it's crazy. It's crazy. It's a blessing.</p> <p><strong>Truly. I wonder what you guys think about where the whole African music scene is right now in 2026. We're 15 or so years after the rise of Afrobeats. We've had amapiano. The whole business of selling music has completely changed. There’s a lot more DIY by artists, like what you've done with emPawa, so a lot of change going on. I wonder if you see any trends or where you think things are headed now for artists and producers.</strong></p> <p><strong>Eazi:</strong> I'll let King Promise lead on the artist and producer, and then I'll speak on the back end.</p> <p><strong>Promise: </strong>I think where African music was before is still the same. The only thing is that now, the global recognition is getting bigger. Obviously times have changed with social media and labels coming back home. Back in the day, you could count how many artists were on an international record label. But as the world opened up more, and as Afrobeats infiltrated the global space, it's just showing why we should be part of the conversation when it comes to music globally, because our music is very electric. It makes you get up on your feet. You could hear a fast-paced beat and someone's singing about sadness. You could hear a fast-paced beat and someone's singing about love. I will literally make music to brighten up your mood, regardless of whatever you're going through. </p> <p>So I think it's really right. It's even late. It should have happened way earlier than this, but, you know, someone has to start and the rest will also follow. So for how it's going on? The music industry globally is going through different phases right now, like you said, but I think Afrobeats will stand the test of time. If there's anything to show that it’s just the success of African music recently, not just on the record side, but touring also. I know everyone says that it's hard right now for everybody, but even just counting the last five years, it's been a massive boom for everyone. So hopefully, you know, as things open up more, it gets better. </p> <p>And, you know, artists are making music that works for what we make back home and also for the rest of the world. We're finding the balance, without losing our originality. And that's something I feel like is the special thing that's going to drive the conversation moving forward. <br></p> <p><strong>Beautiful. Well, I think I told Easi when we spoke earlier, we started our show in 1988, it was Fela and King Sunny Adé and Congolese music. It was just a different world. We saw a lot of great artists really struggle to get anywhere close to the kind of success that artists are seeing today. So this is very satisfying. Like you say, it's about time. So Eazi, what's your take? </strong></p> <p>I mean, to be honest, when next time in New York, I need to catch you and then chop it up with you and see what we can do together. You know, it's me talking about infrastructure. I'm talking the wealth [you have], the interviews you've done. Like, I feel like there's a need for that education, not even to the world, but to us, even us making the music, because there's a lot to learn from history, which Afropop has been a part of. I remember before I became a professional artist, I had come across your website a long, long, long, long time ago. </p> <p>But I think the music is at a beautiful place now. I like the fact that it's a lot of DIY because it's reducing the barrier to entry. And you're seeing it happen all over the globe. But it's so beautiful to see it happen for African music, because all you really need is your talent and a phone, and I think that's beautiful for the opportunity it brings to share your music, share your culture, but also the success and what that does for people who then look up to you. You inspire the next generation. And it's just part of this circle of life. </p> <p>So I thinkthe music in a really good place now. There are no rules. It's moving so fast. There's Afro R&B, Afropop, Afro EDM, Afro anything you can think of. And and you're even having artists just making plain R&B, plain EDM or rock. I even heard some country music in Kumasi. Like you could have sworn that that song was made in like Nashville. So it's it's beautiful to see that in a world that has a lot of crazy things happening. It is beautiful to know that African music is one of those places that you can look to and just get light and you can smile. </p> <p><strong>Amen. Well, real success stories are harder to come by these days. So we need to celebrate them. Before I let you go, Eazi, I should mention that we're really hot in the process of dealing with our archive. You know, we have so much media from over the years, <em>behind</em> the radio show and the website. Now we're working on getting it all digitized with the goal of turning it into a research resource where it can be available for people everywhere. And with A.I., there's so many things we can do once you get things digitized. </strong></p> <p>Yeah. Lovely. Yeah. </p> <p><strong>Well, I look forward to that conversation. I know you guys have another interview, but it's great to to chat with you and congratulations on the album. And nice to meet you, Promise.</strong></p> <p>Yeah, bye. Pleasure. Smart. Have a good one.</p>