Popular Nigerian musician Oluwatosin Oluwole Ajibade, also known by his stage name Mr. Eazi, has opened up about being trolled after saying that Ghana influenced Nigerian music.
Eazi stated in 2017 that modern Nigerian music is influenced by Ghanaian music. His remarks drew harsh criticism from both musicians and showbiz insiders in Nigeria.
In a recent interview with Joey Akan for the Afrobeats Intelligence Podcast, Mr. Eazi discussed the incident and stated that, despite the threats, he does not regret making the statement.
He revealed that some of the people in the industry that he thought of as friends also joined others in canceling him rather than reprimanding him in private. He said,
“When the whole issue with me being cancelled, even till tomorrow, I see people come on my [social media] profile and still throw hate. They said, ‘Oh, yeah, you said that.’ I’m like, ‘Fam, really? This energy takes it to your local politician wey dey run you street.’ You feel me? I didn’t kill anybody. I said what I said.
“And I said it many years ago. If that is the reason you hate me, then you hate me for something else. It’s deeper than that. And realising that just makes me feel free. That’s the lens to which I look at e everything. Because I was seeing guys I was saying ‘Hello’ to, coming out to say, ‘F*ck Mr Eazi.’ And I was like, ‘Bro, you could have called me and say Eazi, I just saw this interview, you shouldn’t have said that. This is what I advise you to do.’ But it just became a thing of let’s all band together. And that’s why in my song ‘We Dey’, I said, ‘Twitter fingers steady showing fake love.’ Because it’s crowd mentality. It’s trendy to hate you, and now it’s like for clicks.
“There are people making art and nobody is caring about their life whether they jump or sit. It’s like they are invisible. Love and hate is acknowledgement of your existence, I’m even blessed to be able to invoke something.”
