Music superstar, business visionary and international nomad Mr Eazi invites listeners to join him in South Africa on Chop Life, Vol. 1: Mzansi Chronicles (Choplife Limited/emPawa Africa), the debut release from his new pan-African music group, ChopLife Soundsystem. Listen HERE.
Recorded between Cape Town and Johannesburg, the 14-track album is a celebration of amapiano, the dance music sound that has exploded out of South Africa to become one of the world’s most thrilling and buzzed-about new music genres. Guests on the project include South African music stars Moonchild Sanelly, Focalistic, Nkosazana Daughter, Ami Faku and Major League Djz, and a deep slate of emerging artists and producers.
“Mzansi Chronicles is an ode to the amapiano sound that has been the soundtrack to my parties and me going to clubs,” Mr Eazi says. “It’s me working with some of my favorite artists and capturing my interpretation of elements I love from the scene.”
Choplife Vol. 1: Mzansi Chronicles is a formal introduction to ChopLife SoundSystem, the Nigerian-born Mr Eazi’s new music lifestyle project and mobile party, which takes its name from West African pidgin slang meaning “enjoy life,” along with the traditional soundsystems that are the backbone of dancehall music culture.
In Jamaican parlance, a soundsystem is a mobile crew of DJs and MCs who present music together at public events. ChopLife SoundSystem takes this tradition and gives it a distinctly African twist.
While Chop Life, Vol. 1 focuses on amapiano, future ChopLife SoundSystem releases will span the map of African club and party music. “I like the idea of going to a new place for 30 days and making a project,” Mr Eazi says. “I’m maintaining the freedom I’ve always had. Being able to transpose myself from one city to another.”
Singles from the album include the viral hit single “Patek” and the moody, “emopiano” vibes on “Wena,” featuring the sublime singer Ami Faku.
Mr Eazi is the primary vocalist on ChopLife recordings, and also serves as its MC — or Minister of Enjoyment— at live events, where he’s joined by resident selector DJ Edu (of BBC Radio fame), along with guest artists and DJs. “I’m going back to where I started from, when I was hosting the biggest parties at uni,” Mr Eazi says of this master of ceremonies role. “This is the part of music I presently love the most — curating experiences and DJ mixes. That’s the entire idea behind ChopLife SoundSystem. I can collaborate with as many different artists and producers, executive produce and present it to the world.”
Production on Chop Life, Vol. 1: Mzansi Chronicles is handled largely by Mozambique’s DJ Tárico with additional contributions from South African beatmakers Mellow & Sleazy, Ghetto Boy, Milan Rendall, LuuDaDeejay, Soul Jam and Mathondos, as well as Nigeria’s Type A.
Mr Eazi will take ChopLife SoundSystem on the road this summer, with ChopLife pop-ups in Barcelona (July 7), Amsterdam (July 8), London (July 14) and Paris (July 16).
Follow ChopLife SoundSystem on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube for further updates.
Chop Life, Vol. 1: Mzansi Chronicles Tracklist
1. Tear Chain (Produced by Dj Tárico)
2. Wena feat. Ami Faku (Produced by Dj Tárico)
3. Big Boy feat. 2woshort, Stompiiey (Produced by Dj Tárico)
4. Oh Yes feat. Moonchild Sanelly, Linda Kim (Produced by Dj Tárico)
5. Werser (Produced by Dj Tárico)
6. Inside feat. Joey B, Mellow & Sleazy, Major League Djz (Produced by Mellow & Sleazy)
7. By Force feat. Focalistic, Anatii (Produced by Ghetto Boy, Mr Eazi, TYPE A)
8. Ziwa La feat. Aymos (Produced by: Dj Tárico)
9. Die For You feat. Nkosazana Daughter (Produced by Dj Tárico)
10. Indaba feat. Nkosazana Daughter (Produced by Dj Tárico & Milan Rendall)
11. Umfaz Wephapha feat. Soul Jam, Boontie RSA, TMan Express, Chley (Produced by Soul Jam, Mathondos)
12. No Condom feat. 2woshort, Stompiiey & Bassie (Produced by LuuDaDeejay)
13. Patek feat. DJ Tárico & Joey B (Produced by: Dj Tárico)
14. Collect feat. Mellow & Sleazy, Mo-T, Major League Djz (Produced by Mellow & Sleazy, Mr Eazi)
CHOPLIFE SOUNDSYSTEM TOUR DATES
July 7 – Choplife Barcelona
July 8 – Choplife Amsterdam
July 14 – Choplife London
July 16 – Choplife Paris
Aug 5 – Berlin (Afrobeats Festival)*
Aug 18 – Stockholm (Selam @ Stockholm’s Kulturfestival)*
* Festival dates
ABOUT MR EAZI
MR EAZI is a musical innovator, business leader and philanthropist. As a recording artist, the Nigerian multihyphenate is the voice behind afropop hits “Pour Me Water,” “Skin Tight” and “Leg Over,” as well as groundbreaking collaborations with the likes of Beyoncé and J Balvin, and the creator of Banku Music, a fusion of Ghanaian and Nigerian sounds and culture. A serial entrepreneur, he founded emPawa Africa in 2018 as a talent incubator program designed to accelerate the careers of African artists. Hailed by CNN, Rolling Stone, Billboard and Forbes for its innovative approach to expanding African music’s global reach, emPawa Africa has since grown into one of Africa’s largest independent music companies, with a track record of breaking global stars like Joeboy and Major League Djz. Mr Eazi has clocked over 4 billion streams of his songs across DSPs, making him one of the most streamed African artists worldwide.
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