“I’m the destroyer of Afrobeats,” a soft chuckle let out as he introduced himself. Those familiar with Mr Eazi’s TikTok content may recognise the reference. His voice on the call had the same quality as his music: laid-back but deliberate, with a delivery that made me want to hear what came next. 

For the emPawa Africa honcho and Latin Grammy-nominee, this year has been a rain of duets. After dropping his 9-tracker extended play with Ghanaian singer King Promise, See What We’ve Done, earlier in the year, he rounds off summer with another “Lagos-to-Accra” collaboration. Tag-teaming MOLIY on Comfort, he’s back in the spotlight for his charming, easy-going, hypnotic rhythms. 

 “As soon as we made Comfort, I’m like, yeah, I feel like this is what we should put out,” he said, revealing that the song was not originally planned as his next single.

Before the interview began, this writer asked him  how many videos he had made that day to promote Comfort. “You don’t count when you’re having fun. It’s when you’re working that you count,” he said. 

His answer offered a glimpse into how he approaches creative work. He’s easily hyperfixated, when he loves something. It absorbs him, and keeping track of the hours or the output typically seems beside the point. 

The 2026 run of releases did not begin with a formal strategy. It grew out of the momentum of See What We’ve Done, and 2025’s Maison Rouge — an EP he described as a love letter to his Banku Music roots. Recorded around the same period as 2023’s The Evil Genius, Maison Rouge was eventually given a life of its own. 

His ongoing creative relationship with his Jamaican producer, Dre Skull, who is also head of the US-based label Mixpak, has helped keep the releases coming. Their history stretches back to records like 2019’s Supernova, 2021’s Sekkle & Bop featuring Popcaan, 2025’s Dance Pon Me and Lambo, featuring Vybz Kartel, from this year. “A big shout out to Dre Skull, who essentially got me recording all these records,” Mr Eazi boomed. He claims that the years of friendship and collaboration across the Atlantic have given them a working relationship that continues to produce new music. He also confirmed that more records are on the way.

‍Everlasting Banku 

Banku Music — a term Mr Eazi coined to describe the intersection of Nigerian and Ghanaian sounds — remains central to how he understands his music, even as the industry has adopted other terms for similar sounds. “I think it’s what everybody’s calling Afro-fusion now,” he said. 

The name Banku derives from the popular Ghanaian dish made from fermented corn and cassava dough. Mr Eazi adopted the name as a metaphor for his music’s mixture of influences and its characteristically relaxed atmosphere.  

He pointed to Bankulize as a clear example of what Banku Music contains: Ghanaian and Nigerian influences alongside dancehall and R&B, all coming together without any single element dominating the record. 

The same cross-border approach runs through his catalogue. Life is Eazi, Vol 1 - Accra to Lagos brought together artists from different scenes, while Life is Eazi, Vol 2 - Lagos to London extended that musical geography further. For Mr Eazi, the choice of collaborator begins with the song itself, followed by the sound and story he wants to build around it. “Two things inform my collaborations. One is the song itself, and then the second is the sonic direction or story I’m trying to tell you.”

Across his career, Mr Eazi’s work — from music, to sports — has thrived as a unifier. His sound captures the West African spirit shared by two borders. His events and, recently, music collaborations have only deepened that effect. A bridge of sorts, his Banku riddims and pan-African artistry have earned him that status as a connector. As a movement.  

Everlasting Mogul 

Mr Eazi’s emPawa Africa, the music ecosystem built to address the gaps he encountered as an emerging artist, began with a specific problem. “It was very hard to even get funding for African music,” he said. “There were not a lot of companies that were taking Afrobeats as priority.”

The landscape has changed significantly since 2018, with more labels entering the market, increased investment and mergers and acquisitions reshaping the industry. Yet some of the challenges that prompted him to start emPawa remain. Others have taken new forms. “There’s always gonna be a gap for information - just artists knowing what is going on,” he said. 

He also emphasized that while access to funding remains an issue, particularly for artists who lack established industry connections and financial resources, mentorship still remains vital to building sustainable careers. 

For him, supporting artists means helping them understand how the industry works and giving them the practical knowledge to navigate it, from getting started to sustaining their careers.

Building businesses across music, technology, entertainment and investment has not changed how Mr Eazi approaches making music. He does not treat them as separate ways of working. “I approach everything the same way, which is by how I feel,” he said. 

To him, commercial performance still matters. Every release involves people’s time and investment, and he is clear that he works towards scale. But the biggest reward comes from seeing an idea through to completion. For him, bringing a song from an idea into existence remains worthwhile in itself, regardless of how far it goes commercially. “Seeing it come to life is the biggest reward.”

Mr Eazi’s TikTok has become another expression of that philosophy. From speculation about his grey hair to his playful responses to online conversations, his engagement with what people say about him carries a sense of humour that seems consistent with how he talks about creativity. “I like having fun,” he said. “Fun is really important to life.” If something feels like it can be done with fun behind it, he will most likely do it.

The same instinct influenced his decision to release Comfort ahead of a project that was already lined up. When asked what comes next, he said he wants to have more fun with the music and continue exploring what TikTok can do. For Mr Eazi, the next step is still an “opportunity to experiment,” follow his instincts and see where they lead.

Credit:Mr Eazi

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