|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Before Mr Eazi became one of Afrobeats’ biggest global exports, he was living what could easily pass for a low-budget corporate superhero movie.
By day, the future hitmaker was deep in Lagos’ famous Computer Village, making money from used mobile phones and keeping his musical ambitions firmly under wraps. His concern was simple. He feared that potential tech clients would struggle to take him seriously in business meetings if they knew he was also chasing a career in music.
So, while the phones were changing hands during the day, Mr Eazi was quietly building a musical identity after hours.
Then came July 22, 2016, and suddenly the secret was getting harder to keep.
The location was London’s O2 Kentish Town Forum, where Mr Eazi had independently promoted a concert despite having serious doubts about whether anyone would actually turn up, let alone know his songs.
But the moment he stepped on stage, those fears were sent packing.
As he handed the microphone toward the audience, the response reportedly stunned him. Instead of hearing confused silence, he heard a London crowd singing his lyrics back to him, word for word.
That moment changed everything.
The phone business had officially become the side hustle, while music had quietly stolen the main job. Convinced that his musical calling was no longer something to juggle after business hours, Mr Eazi finally put the phones aside and committed himself fully to music.
And judging by what happened next, that may have been one of the best career switches Afrobeats has ever witnessed.
