Afropop musician Oluwatosin Ajibade, popularly known by his stage name Mr. Eazi, will launch his new album on the sidelines of an international music festival entirely dedicated to Africans. Each song on the album has been transformed into a work by one of 13 artists representing 8 countries on the continent. These include the artist in Contonou Dominique Zinkpe, Edozie Anedu from Lagos, and the artist in Texas from Cameroon Sesse Elangwe, who is one of the two artists who produced a work based on the first single from the Chop Time album, No Friend. Elangwe's The Way I See It (2023) is a mixed media project that combines titles from Ajibade's non-music career and personal life, including his work with Hugo Boss and his partnership with Ghanaian betting company Bet Pawa. The project is supported by Choplife IP, an Ajibade-based company that invests in African culture; music, and movies.
The idea for the exhibition - which will travel to Lagos, Accra, London, and New York - was created during Ajibade's absence from his work; "I'm tired of making music," he told The Art Newspaper. He was recording for an album in Benin in 2021, staying at the Maison Rouge hotel in the capital, when he saw the work of Cotnou-citizen Patricorel. Ajibade says when I saw the artist's skeletal display at the exhibition held at the hotel, "it was the first time I really realized that I liked certain forms of art." From there, the musician realized that he wanted to work with artists on his next album, Patricorel included. However, with the help and guidance of Sotheby's Head of Modern and Contemporary African Art, Hannah O'Leary, and the director of the Noldor Artist Residency in Ghana, Joseph Awuah-Darko, the idea for a traveling exhibition was born. Ajibade will also collaborate with the founding curator of the African Contemporary Art Museum 1-54, Touria El Glaoui, as the exhibition hosts the London leg of the exhibition as part of its special projects section in October.
"Mr. Eazi is now one of the biggest Afrobeats artists in the world... So we were happy when his team approached us to collaborate on the London iteration of his show and audition," said El Glaoui. "For me, it's exciting to see a world-renowned musician showing the work of African artists," he added. Creating the exhibition also allowed Ajibade to enter the African art scene. Since he started working on the project, he said he has collected "more than 50 coins". This year he attended the Cape Town Art Fair, with O'Leary, and bought works by artists including Paris-based Elladj Lincy Deloumeaux. The show was also where Ajibade met Zimbabwean artist Kufa Makwavarara, who was working on an album with him. The presentation will also be followed by a listening evening. The events in Lagos and Accra will focus mainly on bringing the work to people who are not familiar with it: "It is for my fans and the music industry that brings them to this world," says Ajibade.
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The idea for the exhibition—which will travel to Lagos, Accra, London, and New York—was created at a time that Ajibade was feeling uninspired by his work; "I was tired of making music," he tells The Art Newspaper. Ajibade will also be collaborating with the founding director of the Contemporary African art fair 1-54, Touria El Glaoui, as the fair hosts the London leg of the exhibition as part of its special projects section this October.
“Mr. Eazi is one of the biggest Afrobeats artists in the world right now… We were therefore thrilled when his team approached us about collaborating on the London iteration of his exhibition and listening experience,” El Glaoui says. “For me, it’s exciting to see an internationally acclaimed musician platforming the work of emerging African artists,” she adds.
The exhibition will also double up as a listening party. The Lagos and Accra iterations will be especially focused on introducing the work to people who may not ordinarily see it: “It’s more for my fans and the music industry and bringing them into this world,” Ajibade says.
