Mr. Eazi, an Afropop musician, will debut his new album with a global exhibition of African art he commissioned.
One of 13 artists from 8 continents created each song on the CD. Dominique Zinkpe, Edozie Anedu from Lagos, and Sesse Elangwe from Texas are among the two artists to create works based on the album’s opening tune Chop Time, No Friend.
Elangwe’s The Way I See It (2023) collages headlines from Ajibade’s non-music profession and personal life, including his work with Hugo Boss and Bet Pawa.
Choplife IP, Ajibade’s business that invests in African music and movies, funds the project.
When Ajibade felt uninspired by his work, “I was tired of making music,” he told The Art Newspaper. The show will move to Lagos, Accra, London, and New York. In 2021, while recording the album in Benin at the capital’s Hotel Maison Rouge, he discovered Cotnou native Patricorel’s art. The hotel display of the artist’s satirical skeleton etchings “was the first time I really realized that certain types of art caught me,” recalls Ajibade.
The musician then decided to work with musicians on his future album, including Patricorel. Later, Sotheby’s head of Modern and Contemporary African art, Hannah O’Leary, and Ghana’s Noldor Artist Residency director Joseph Awuah-Darko suggested a traveling show.
Ajibade will work with Touria El Glaoui, the founder and director of the contemporary African art show 1-54, to organize the London leg of the exhibition in October as part of its special projects area. Currently, Mr. Eazi is a prominent Afrobeats performer worldwide. We were excited when his team contacted us about working on his London exhibition and listening experience, adds El Glaoui. “For me, it’s exciting to see an internationally acclaimed musician platforming emerging African artists,” she says.
Organizing the show allowed Ajibade to enter the African art scene. Since starting the initiative, he has gathered “over 50-something pieces”. This year, he and O’Leary bought paintings by Paris-based Elladj Lincy Deloumeaux at Cape Town Art Fair. The expo is where Ajibade met Zimbabwean artist Kufa Makwavarara, who is working on the record.
The exhibition will also include a listening party. Lagos and Accra will concentrate on presenting the work to new audiences: “It’s more for my fans and the music industry and bringing them into this world,” Ajibade adds.
