Grammy and Latin Grammy award-winning global music superstar MR EAZI keeps breaking the mould as he drops his debut album The Evil Genius , alongside the video for the single "Exit" featuring Soweto Gospel Choir. The track has a blend of dancehall, afrobeats with contemporary Afropop/Gospel aesthetics. From the rich guitar arrangement, soulful pads, and bouncy drum grooves that are underpinned by Mr. Eazi's easy-going (no pun intended) melodies. Here, he pontificates on his journey and the hurdles he had to face to get to this point. He acknowledges the pain and the blessings and doesn't shy away from giving thanks to God for seeing him through. Joining him are the well-known South African group Soweto Gospel Choir, who help accentuate the spiritual inspirational theme with their rich enthralling vocals.
The visual is quite cinematic and scenic and captures Mr. Eazi's eye for detail. From the engaging set pieces, and spiritual and trailblazing motifs to the eye-grabbing costumes and set pieces, viewers would surely be drawn into this magnificent showcase.
The Evil Genius is an exciting musical scrapbook that blends Afrobeats, Afropop, gospel, hiplife, highlife and folklore into a glorious pan-African fusion sound in a way that only Mr Eazi knows how. The album sees Eazi collaborating with an international heavy-hitting cast of producers, including Kel-P (Nigeria), Michaël Brun (Haiti), Knucks (UK), and Nonso Amadi (Canada), as well as guest artists such as Grammy Award-winning legend Angélique Kidjo, Nigerian star Joeboy, and South African group Soweto Gospel Choir, to bring the 16-track project to life.
Described as a first-of-its-kind fusion of African music and visual art, perhaps the most ambitious and ground-breaking aspect of Mr Eazi’s The Evil Genius is its visual art component, with the album birthing 16 art pieces to accompany each track on the album. Every track on The Evil Genius is represented by a unique physical art piece that Mr Eazi has commissioned from different contemporary visual artists that he encountered while travelling across Africa recording the album. Noting a lack of alignment and collaboration between Africa’s exploding pop music industry, and the continent’s fine art creators, Mr Eazi is highlighting the power of such collaboration by incorporating the work of these artists – representing eight African nations and a continent of aesthetics – into The Evil Genius.
Ahead of the album’s release on October 27, Mr Eazi is inviting the public to experience the music alongside the art at several multi-sensory exhibition listening experiences. The exhibition debuts at Gallery 1957 in Ghana – a significant country for Mr Eazi, where he began his recording career and first rose to fame – from September 13-18. Following this inaugural presentation, the exhibition will travel to London as part of the renowned 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair at Somerset House from October 12-15. Additional exhibition announcements in other cities are forthcoming.
