Earlier this year in April, Apple announced a new “Up-Next” feature that will promote music’s next generation and spotlight an artist each month.
Since the announcement, three artists, including Khalid, Sigrid, and 6black have been featured.
This week, Nigerian-born artist Mr Eazi was announced as Apple Music’s Up Next Artist, becoming the first African artist to be featured.
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Born Oluwatosin Oluwole Ajibade in 1991, Mr Eazi is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He credits himself with being the pioneer of Banku Music, a fusion sound he describes as the mixture of “Ghanaian bounces, Ghanaian highlife, Nigerian chord progressions, and Nigerian patterns”.
Mr Eazi moved to Ghana in 2008 for college, enrolling at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. He began performing while in school and released his first mixtape in 2013. Bit it wasn’t until the release of his first single “skin tight” in 2015 that he started attracting an international audience.
In 2016, he scored a record deal with Wizkid’s Starboy Entertainment.
In addition to the load of exposure that comes with the Apple Music “Up Next” spotlight, featured artists are granted a high-profile slot on James Corden’s Late Late Show.
Mr. Eazy appeared on the show last Wednesday and performed two tracks from his latest album Life Is Eazi, Vol. 1 – Accra to Lagos.
Photo credit: Apple Music
Meet @mreazi. The Nigerian-born singer, pioneer of “banku music” and our new #UpNext artist! https://t.co/T5gu3C3TKr pic.twitter.com/cHU2X082xu
— Apple Music (@AppleMusic) July 26, 2017
