In pursuing artistic exploration, Nigerian vocalist Mr Eazi unveils a dynamic tapestry of Afropop and Afrofusion in his eagerly anticipated debut album, "The Evil Genius." The album includes a bevy of Afropop and Afrofusion sounds, where Eazi merges different worlds and perspectives in faith, love, loneliness, and conflict. An arbiter in global music, Eazi also helms the creative Evil Genius agenda with a multi-city traveling exhibition that prominently features work from African visual artists that complement each song.

Set to release on Friday, October 27, The Evil Genius is a global tapestry crafted in cities from Ouidah to New York. This album boasts singles like “Advice,” “Chop Time, No Friend,” “Fefe Ne Fefe,” “Legalize,” and the standout “Exit” featuring the Soweto Gospel Choir. Across the album, Mr Eazi attests to his position as a quintessential Afrofusion star while lending prestige to underrepresented visual artists. Press materials for The Evil Genius show vibrant pieces from Edozie Anedu, Dominique Zinkpe, Sinalo Ngcaba, Patricorel, and more, all contributing to the modern explosion of African culture.

“The art became the B side and gave the whole project more expression,” Mr Eazi tells BET.com. “Now, what is key for me is just putting it out, and I think putting art out in its form is for it to create a response. And the response doesn't have to be positive or negative; it just has to be a response.”

Fresh from a riveting rehearsal in Rwanda, where he prepared a three-song medley for the 2023 Trace Music Awards, the trailblazing Banku music maestro, born Oluwatosin Oluwole Ajibade, caught up with BET.com. A week before releasing his 16-track album, "The Evil Genius," Mr Eazi delved into the heart of the album and the story behind its intriguing title.

“I feel like every one of us gets obsessed with our public image, especially when you're an artist, because of how much your image is tied to likeability,” he shared. “You could get so wrapped up in being this person that you lose yourself and don't even know who you are anymore.”

Mr Eazi continued, “During the time I was recording this album, because this album was deeply personal to me, I was doing a lot of introspection and found that I had gotten trapped in that whole image. In order to get away from that trap I had to ask myself, What was the worst thing [I’ve] heard about myself?”

The 32-year-old harkened back to when he attempted to sign an African act to his record label and talent enterprise, emPawa Africa. “During the negotiation, a colleague [said], ‘Oh Eazi, I really want to sign this deal, but like I keep hearing stuff,’” Mr Eazi shared. “I'm like, ‘What? What do you keep hearing?’ And he's like, ‘Oh I heard you’re an Evil Genius.’

Ultimately deciding that there was no point in explaining himself, Mr Eazi accepted the title instead of controlling the public’s opinion of him, even those unaware of his personal grapples with stardom. On “Advice,” Mr Eazi tackles experiencing betrayal amid growing success, which he articulates as an issue relative to in-demand artists.

“You don't realize how much these things affect you because you don't talk about it,” he says. “For a lot of us artists, if we're not able to address these things then we start to look for things to take us away from the pain or disappointment that we feel. We don't even want to face ourselves and the responsibility that comes with that.”

Rather than indulging in vices, Mr Eazi embraced art as a means of therapy after seeing a painting by Benin artist Patricorel. The piece would later become the single artwork for “Legalize.” “I was spellbound looking at the painting and thinking, Wow, this is so beautiful and it speaks about the finality of love and how out of this finality of love comes new life,” said Mr Eazi.

Mr Eazi’s embracing of African visual artists also defies the notion of Eurocentric art being the standard. “Of course, I've heard of the Mona Lisa, I've heard of Leonardo DaVinci, but I don’t know their work. I probably know Basquiat's work because of Jay-Z – I know about him through one of my favorite artists,” says Mr Eazi. “It's so beautiful that a lot of my fans will also start to discover African art and African artists because of my music. It's a blessing to be able to be that vessel.”

Mr Eazi’s fandom of Jay-Z manifested when performance artist Marina Abramović, who appeared in the “Picasso Baby” music video, visited The Evil Genius exhibition stop in London earlier this month. “I think it was just life laughing at me,” said Mr Eazi. “She's at the exhibition and I'm trying to [give her] a walkthrough of the pieces. She's taking the headphones and looking at the art just exactly the way I envisioned people to interact with it. She's telling me about song by song and the symbolism of every stroke and things I didn't even see. It was so surreal to me.”

The full-circle moment reminded Mr Eazi of generating interest from exhibition visitors in September during Accra Cultural Week, also a signal that the Afrofusion music takeover is still early. He namedrops Wizkid and Tems’ “Essence,” Burna Boy’s “Ye,” Rema’s “Calm Down,” and Davido’s “Unavailable” as focal songs of the last five years that show the expansion of African musical acts.

“I want to see 50 years of afropop to the world. Let's see how crazy that's gonna be,” he says. “We’re seeing more artists coming with different styles. You don't need to be afropop to have a career; you could be making alternative afro R&B or you could be making some new experimental s***. It’s becoming more and more of an ecosystem, and I think it's only on the upward trajectory.”

After the intense pressure surrounding releasing his two-part Life is Eazi mixtape series, Mr Eazi is already charting his next musical course, having laid down 90 tracks for The Evil Genius. With his legacy firmly established, he delves deeper into his artistic soul, paving the way for fans to find their own inspiration.

“These songs kind of wear the ones that fit together in the story I wanted to tell,” he says. “I probably have two more albums from this process, but not as personal as this, because I had to go deep into my subconscious to bring this out for me to be free.”

Stream The Evil Genius here: https://empawaafrica.lnk.to/TheEvilGenius