By Oluwakemi Oladipo
Nigeria’s Afropop singer, Oluwatosin Ajibade, also known as Mr Eazi, has called for more collaborations between Africa’s pop musicians and the continent’s fine art creators.
Ajibade made the call in a statement to
announce release of his debut album, The Evil Genius, on Friday in Lagos.
He said: “Noting lack of a meaningful collaboration between Africa’s exploding pop music scene and the continent’s fine art creators, I personally handpicked 13 artists.
“They are representing eight African countries.
“As part of the rollout, I have been inviting the public to experience the music alongside the art.’’
Ajibade said that he collaborated with a Nigerian stylist, designer and photographer, Daniel Obasi, for the album’s cover art.
He said that Obasi was known for his work with American singer and songwriter, Beyoncé,” he said.
According to Ajibade, the album features some of his most personal work as he dives deeply into subjects such as love, betrayal, loneliness and family.
“Guest features on the project come from Angelique Kidjo (Benin), Tekno (Nigeria), Efya (Ghana), Whoisakin (Nigeria), Joeboy (Nigeria), and three-time Grammy winners Soweto Gospel Choir (South Africa),’’ he said.
The musician said that, to promote fusion of African music and art, he engaged visual artists from across Africa to create a unique, physical art piece to represent each of the album’s 16 tracks. (NAN)
