‘Chopping Life’ with Edu and Eazi: Q&A with New Wave Magazine

New Wave Magazine sat down for a chat with two groundbreaking artists, as they come together to form an international clubbing experience - called ‘ChopLife Soundsystem’. ‘Chop Life’ refers to the popular West African pidgin slang phrase, which means ‘enjoy life’, which duo Mr Eazi and DJ Edu say they hope partygoers will experience on one of their nights.

With the help of genres like amapiano and afrobeats, this cutting-edge new pan-African soundsystem modernises soundsystem culture for club nights, and curates the ultimate African party experience, both on original studio recordings and in carefully organised live events. Mr. Eazi is the main vocalist on ChopLife SoundSystem releases. He also acts as the group's MC, or "Minister of Enjoyment," at live events, where he is accompanied by guest DJs and performers as well as resident selector DJ Edu of BBC Radio 1Xtra.

Mr Eazi describes himself as a ‘creative and business visionary leading African music into its future’, and no doubt has greatly contributed to the scene. He is the creator of Banku Music, which is a combination of Ghanaian and Nigerian sounds and culture, skyrocketing to global success. Kenyan-born DJ Edu is based in London, presenting BBC Radio 1Xtra’s Destination Africa show, which showcases the sound of African underground in a carefully curated mix. The pair greatly compliment each other and together form the perfect collective - ‘Choplife soundsystem’.

Are there any locations you wouldn’t perform at?

Edu: No, we would go everywhere. Right now we’re talking about going to Singapore. Essentially, it is just a party, a celebration of Afrobeats music.

A lot of people who are just discovering Afrobeats now, we try to take them back to the source, and pay homage to all the artists that physically put in all of the work. It’s not about just playing hit songs, back to back, it is also educational.

When and where would you pinpoint the globalisation and the rise of Afrobeats in the west, if you can?

Edu: I think it’s when companies and brands realise they can make music from it. If you look at the rise of trap music, or hip-hop, it is similar. It was never originally recognised, it was just dingy rap. And when it became a bigger thing, and brands started to invest in it and pay attention, people started to make money out of it and invest in it.

Now you see Afrobeats being more heavily invested in, do you think it is losing its true nature or do you think it has maintained it?

Edu: I think it comes down to the artist. Everybody has their own struggle. Some people water down theirs.

Eazi: I dont think it’s getting watered down. The records that are becoming global smash hits are not being sung in English. They are being sung in Pidgin English, and in Zulu, if you think of Amapiano. They are not even French records. They are speaking Igbo. It is not being produced by British producers, by American producers, it is being produced by kids in Lagos, in Nairobi and it is blowing up. There is no need to water it down.

I remember back in the day - and this is why I never signed a record deal - and they tell you need to dumb it down, to make a different type of sound. You heard my music, and you wanted to sign me, so why did you want me to change?

We were in Spain and people were singing songs they didn't even understand. The beat just speaks for itself. It’s an opportunity to stay true to 1.2 billion people in Africa.

Edu: Even when we were listening to Michael Jackson, back in the day, we didn't understand what he was saying.

So what would you say the most important element of Afrobeats music, the lyrics, the melody and the beat?

Eazi: The beat, the melodies, the groove, the dance, the culture. More than lyrics. When you hear the melody, you can feel it. That's what it’s about at the end of the day.Afrobeats doesn't sound like pop music, its completely different. Its untouched. Nobody outside of Africa can suggest that they put it on, that they opened its doors. It’s coming its purest form, and I think it will continue like this. The only difference in before and now is that it didnt have the investments, but now it does, not just from music labels but from industries. They are putting it in there.

When I am making music, it’s about making music that is authentic to us. And when you make music like that, it is going to be original. With Dj Edu’s show, he is always genre blending. I have always been a fan of the cocktail of music. I made a record with Nigerian producers and it was an unabashed afro beats record. What makes it afrobeats is the drums, the cadence, the melody.

We have the best of this kind, the fact that it was in Spanish doesnt make it not acrobat. We made a conscious effort to make the production African. The source has to be the source and it has to be respected. To shine a light on these kids.

We’re not going to get a kid from Nigeria to make a record, and an American producer touches it and says it is produced by him. Anywhere we go, it is at the core, it is with African producers. As the genre becomes bigger and bigger, everything will trickle down.

How does that make you feel, that this music that you have grown up with is now on a global scale

Edu: It had already been happening, it's just that the world hadn’t caught on to it. We have been celebrating our artists and our music for time, and it is just now that the rest of the world is getting on to it. It is good to see that young artists are being celebrated as well.

For so long this music had been put into the world music category, and it had never been able to get out of that. Kids are able to feed their families now. People are able to move up and down the world showing their music now. It is amazing.

Do you try and help emerging artists? Edu: We are the roots. The seeds are growing and germinating. We will always do that. Eazi does it through his company, and I do it too. If you don’t, where will the new music come from? I do it too through my emerging artists section. You may have a thousand followers and have amazing music.

Eazi: Its not charity. Nobody is doing anybody any favours. These kids, they are the source. They are making amazing music. You need them as much as they need you. It is a collaboration, a true bilateral working relationship. A lot of people always overstate it.

You are helping yourself, you are collaborating with highly talented people to make good music that is for the benefit of both you and them. If you invest in the ecosystem, the ecosystem invests in you. It's a sustainable exchange.

Who is a young person that you have worked with, and seen grow in that sense?

Eazi: The person who always comes to mind is Joe Boy, seeing him first in 2018 and seeing him grow from that point has been immense. He is now one of the biggest Afro-pop stars in the world, and he has done that all himself, independently. He is now one of the biggest artists in the scene right now, not even in Afro-pop but in the world.

Listen here