Benin was central to the creation of The Evil Genius, a place for Mr Eazi to discover himself and reset. “[In] Cotonou, there was just peace,” he says. “My ancestry is from Benin. My dad told me his grandfather was from there. It was like going back home, and that’s where I found a lot of the visual artists for the project.”
Much of The Evil Genius was recorded in hotels, sitting rooms, kitchens, balconies – on the go. In Cotonou, Eazi made Eya, a community centre with a dynamic studio, his hub. It was here that he hosted the singer Liya and her team, including the producer KDream, for a series of sessions. “Their energy was so creative ,” Mr Eazi says. “I heard [the beat from “Mandela”], and it just felt so spiritual. I was probably high to be honest. And I just go: I want to live forever like Nelson Mandela.”
For Eazi, “Mandela” is shorthand for legacy. He places himself in the lineage of not just Nelson Mandela, but Fela Kuti, soccer star Karim Benzema — Africans with larger than life legacies. At this point in the album, Eazi has returned to the mindset on the intro, “Olúwa Jọ̀” and its theme of family and prayer. “I would just remember my dad praying for our futures as a kid,” Eazi says. “My dad fought so many battles for me, sacrificing to send me to the best schools. I feel a lot of these temptations I surmount is not because of my power but because someone prayed for me...”
Download & Stream Here: https://empawaafrica.lnk.to/TheEvilGenius
Lyrics
Zagadat
Mmmmm
I want to live forever
Like Nelson Mandela
So dem go fo for me o (yeah yeah)
I dey for Kalakuta
Dey blow my shakabula
So many things i see o
E geti domitila
Wey want to kill my ginger
Awon omo shepeteri
Jesu!
Wo ni won ri mi ni ta
As i dey chase paper
Sleep no dey for me o ye
I face money leave Konji o
Na that one sure for me o
Sapa no fit-ti me o
Olorun ma je ka ri o
Nobody dey for me o
Only me dey for me o
The more you look
The less you see
The more you look
The less you see
That’s why i take the hustle personal (personal)
Make i chill for my Benzima (Benzima)
Nobody fit to drain my energy
More time me i dey pray for my frenemies
Na me dey give them motivation (vation)
Na me dey give them motivation
Baba tori me jaja gbera
Kin ma r’alokoba
Oh Lord
I want to live forever
Like Nelson Mandela
So dem go fo for me o ye ye
I dey for Kalakuta
Dey blow my shakabula
So many things i see o (I see o)
E geti domitila
Wey want to kill my ginger
Awon omo shepeteri
Jesu!
Wo ni won ri mi ni ta
As i dey chase paper
Sleep no dey for me o ye
I face money leave Konji o
Na that one sure for me o
Sapa no fit-ti me o
Olorun ma je ka ri o
Nobody dey for me o
Only me dey for me o
The more you look
The less you see
The more you look
The less you see
That's why i take the hustle personal (personal)
Make i chill for my Benzima (Benzima)
Nobody fit to drain my energy
More time me i dey pray for my frenemies
Na me dey give them motivation (vation)
Na me dey give them motivation
Baba tori me jaja gbera
Kin ma ri alokoba
That's why i take the hustle personal (O Lord)
Make i chill for my Benzima (ye ye)
Nobody fit to drain my energy
More time me i dey pray for my frenemies
Na me dey give them motivation
Na me dey give them motivation
Baba tori me jaja gbera
Kin ma ri alokoba
Oh Lord
Follow Mr Eazi
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/officialmrEaZi/
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Web: http://mreazi.com
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