And not just in the way you see it like when you go to the museum, but actually in pop culture, in its intersection with the music, and its intersection with fashion, for instance, which is something that's part of this album rollout. And that's one of the things this album seeks to do: show you different ways in which African art is evolving. There's definitely so much more, as much as there is for the music there is for the art. Do you think that there's still progress to be made in the perception of African art? And there are many, many newer contemporary artists from Africa going into museums throughout the English-speaking world. You're in London right now, and there's a big exhibition at Tate Modern of sculptor El Anatsui. But this is different in that it’s track by track, coming together and presented as a multisensory exhibition. Fela worked with the artist Lemi in creating album covers. And she said, this is the first time she's seen this. And I was trying to take her through the exhibition, but she's like, "No Eazi, I know what I'm doing." And she took the headphones and she put on the song, and as she interacted with the art, she started telling me things that I hadn't told her about the art, and the music, and the connection. Marina Abramovich was at the exhibition in London. So each work of art that was commissioned is born out of the music. If you consume the album without the art, you've only consumed half of it.Īnd this is the first time ever - and I stand to be corrected - that you have this form of expression with African music and contemporary African arts, where everything is happening all at once. I'd seen Marina Abramovich with Jay-Z, in that video "Picasso Baby," around the time she did "The Artist is Present." But the difference between all of that and this one is that this album is not complete without the art. I think fine art has been used across the years for album covers. Had you ever heard of artists and music coming together in this way? I can think of, for instance, Jean Michel Basquiat, who did some album covers in his day. It's me painting, telling the stories with instrumentals as my canvas and it’s the artists telling the same story, but with that form of expression. It was the first time I was seeing the similarities between music and fine art. When I saw the first art piece by Patricorel, it was the first time I had appreciated art in that way. It was a record of two and a half years of my life. This album was very personal to me, I might have recorded it and never put it out because of how personal it is for me, it was like therapy for me. Art is the reason why I'm putting out this album. To be honest, it just felt like the natural thing to do. Why was it important for you to take that step? You've gone a step further and commissioned fine art. Plenty of musicians have sophisticated visuals nowadays that go with their albums. Eazi over Zoom about The Evil Genius, why the art and music are inseparable, and why his full-length debut took so long to come to fruition. "We're discovering ourselves through the lens of art, which is beautiful because there's no judgment in art." "Art is uniting us, in the sense of collaboration, in the sense of knowing who we are," Eazi tells. It’s also a way for the musician to share an intimate experience with his fans, who, like him, are discovering a love of contemporary art through an accessible, African lens. He considers the two elements inseparable – you can’t have the art without the music, and vice versa. Visitors could listen to the album on headphones while looking at the artworks inspired by each song. At art fairs in Accra, Ghana, Lagos, Nigeria, and in London, Eazi has previewed the record as a hybrid art exhibition/listening experience. But there’s more to the record than music: Every song is accompanied by artwork from a different African artist.Įazi sourced artists for the project from art he would see at fairs, on social media, in books or through friends, then commission those artists to create work based on a song from the record. It’s a personal, heartfelt departure for a musician that until now was content to make pop music. The Evil Genius - which took two years to make in a production process that spanned multiple continents - is the album Eazi never planned to make. The record comes 10 years into his career. Eazi is playing a different, much longer game.Īfter releasing multinational hits and collaborations with everyone from Davido and Tiwa Savage to Major Lazer and Bad Bunny, Eazi unveiled his first full-length album. How long can an artist in today’s industry go without releasing an album? Two, maybe three years? Clearly, Afrobeats star Mr.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |