Renowned singer and entrepreneur Oluwatosin Oluwole Ajibade, popularly known as Mr Eazi, has unveiled the reasons behind his decision to decline recording deals offered by Nigerian rapper Olamide and Abou “Bu” Thiam, Akon’s younger brother and executive vice president of Columbia Records.
Speaking on the Afrobeats Intelligence Podcast hosted by Joey Akan, Mr Eazi explained that when he commenced his music career, both Olamide and Bu Thiam separately approached him to sign with their record labels. However, he declined as he hadn’t yet fully understood the industry and desired his independence.
Reflecting on the encounters, Mr Eazi recalled,
“I remember going for ‘Ghana Meets Naija in Ghana. And that was where I met Olamide. He tried to sign me to his record label. He offered me a deal. Somebody else had also tried to sign me. Bu [Abou Thiam], Akon’s brother, was the first person who tried to sign me.”
Regarding his decision to reject the offers, he elaborated,
“I declined because then I haven’t even figured out what I was doing. It was too early to sign. So, I didn’t sign to Bu. When Olamide gave me a deal, I knew that I hadn’t totally understood the business or what I was even doing so I declined. Everything was just happening so fast. One thing I knew was that I wanted my freedom.”
In addition, Mr Eazi disclosed an opportunity with Jay-Z’s record label, ROC Nation, for his hit song ‘Skin Tight’.
However, he revealed that Wizkid advised him to consider the deal only if it offered life-changing money, which Mr Eazi believed wasn’t the case at that time based on his vision for his career.
The insightful interview sheds light on Mr Eazi’s early career decisions and his firm commitment to understanding the industry before committing to major deals.
