A Unique Blend of Artistry and Entrepreneurship
Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, once remarked, “I don’t know of any musician who is an entrepreneur, very calm, low-headed like you.” This statement was directed at Mr. Eazi, the Nigerian musician whose real name is Oluwatosin Ajibade. Dangote made this praise during a private wedding ceremony in Iceland on August 8, 2025, where Mr. Eazi married Temi Otedola, daughter of Nigerian oil magnate Femi Otedola.
Mr. Eazi, now 34, first gained attention a decade ago with hits such as Skin Tight, Leg Over, and Power Me Water. At that time, he was just another Afrobeats star in the growing constellation of talent. Few could have predicted the business acumen that lay beneath his melodic surface. His journey began in 2013 with the release of his debut mixtape About to Blow, which proved to be a prophetic title. While the project showed promise, it was the breakout single Skin Tight that truly opened international doors.
By 2017, the project Life Is Eazi Vol. 1 – Accra to Lagos cemented his place among Afrobeats’ most distinctive voices. One of his earliest business insights came disguised as artistic preference. Mr. Eazi deliberately positioned himself in East Africa, a region he saw as both musically receptive and financially rewarding. To many, these seemed like simple touring choices but were actually calculated market moves.
“When we dropped Life Is Eazi Vol. 2, the first place I visited was East Africa. It wasn’t random — it was a deliberate. We asked ourselves, ‘Where is the most receptive place for music in Africa?’” he told Okay Africa in 2019. He went on to admit that it was more lucrative to perform in East Africa than in his native Nigeria.
“Nobody is going to pay you $100,000 in Nigeria to do a show, or even $60,000 for a brief set. But you can easily make that money by walking into Kenya or Gambia, so those places should be the ones I focus on,” he said. The bulk of his YouTube views consistently came from East African audiences.
A Foundation Built on Privilege and Responsibility
East Africa is arguably the most receptive region for music on the continent because they consume everything—hip hop, local sound, West African sounds they embrace it all, he says. Born into an entrepreneurial household, business discussions were common at breakfast. His father, Captain Alexander Olukayode Ajibade, a former Nigerian Air Force pilot, founded an aviation consulting company.
The captain loved his music and his extensive collection was Mr. Eazi’s repertoire in his early years. Meanwhile, Mr. Eazi was also observing his mother, a banker, build a secondary income stream through property investments. By the time he enrolled at Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah University, where he studied mechanical engineering, he was already venturing into his first business venture. He booked shows, promoted events, and organised parties.
After graduating at 23, he joined Schlumberger in Nigeria, a leading international oil and gas services company, as an engineer. But music was always in the background, he confesses. “I’ve never been one to do just one thing. While studying engineering, which is a notoriously demanding course, I was organising events. During master’s, I got into goldmining, importing soft drinks into Ghana, selling shawarma, even importing sausage rolls. I had all these businesses running while still studying,” he recalls.
Between 2013 and 2017, Mr. Eazi’s hunger to express his artistry burned brighter than ever. This was the era of relentless collaborations, as he aligned himself with some of Nigeria’s hottest acts at the time — Tekno, Olamide, Phyno and Burna Boy. That paid off, as his voice was heard across Africa and in Europe, particularly in the UK, where streams surged. Soon, Mr. Eazi found himself at some of the world’s most coveted stages, including the Coachella in the US in 2019.
The Birth of Banku Music
Around the same time, his Accra to Lagos mixtape debuted at number four on the Billboard World Album Chart, cementing one of the highest peaks of his musical success. It was during this chapter that Mr. Eazi crystallised his sonic identity, fusing Ghanaian and Nigerian influences into what he called Banku Music, a name he later gave to his record label.
Privilege of perspective: For many born with silver spoons, calmness rarely ranks among their virtues. But for Mr. Eazi, it has become his defining trait. It’s one of the qualities for which he is often praised. “On the street I grew up, it was my job every morning to open the tap in our compound so people from across the street could fetch water. I quickly realised there was a difference between them and my family, who lived in a four-bedroom house with three sitting rooms, one boys’ quarters, and four cars.”
“My mother also owned a house across the street, where my friends, the ones I played football with, lived. For me, school meant being dropped off by a driver; for them, it meant walking. I saw the disparity clearly. My best friend lived with his uncle and five other children in a one-bedroom apartment. That contrast humbled me and made me aware of the privilege I had.”
From Campus Hustles to Global Recognition
At Kwame Nkrumah University, that awareness deepened. Surrounded by peers with even greater privilege, he saw classmates blow $10,000 a month in pocket money, some driving cars as freshmen, while all he had was $1,000 to last him. “They partied, balled, enjoyed life. I wanted that too, but I didn’t want to burden my parents. That’s what pushed me into entrepreneurship so early. I wanted to stunt like those students. I thought to myself it can’t just be them. I can do this too.”
Instead of returning home during school breaks, he chose to stay in Ghana and ‘hustle.’ “That’s how I started hosting parties to generate income. I bought a taxi, sold phones, I was never doing just one business. My pocket money became my base capital, though I believe even without it, I would have hustled twice as hard. When I ventured into organising these extravagant parties, a single event could cost $4,000, which meant I had to find that money somewhere.”
Those parties became his training ground. Through them, Mr. Eazi discovered the intrinsic value of entertainment and the mechanics of revenue generation. “There’s tremendous value in entertainment as an aspect of life, in amusement itself. Because I threw parties, I became famous on campus. People nicknamed me Swagger. Suddenly, classmates wanted to help me with assignments or sign me in for attendance when I wasn’t there. Up-and-coming artistes also befriended me, hoping I’d book them for shows. That was my first taste of fame, and I quickly realized how powerful it was.”
The Book That Changed Everything
Being an events host meant he was constantly around artistes. But while his mind was business-oriented, he hadn’t yet grasped the opportunities hidden within the music world. That changed in 2016, when a friend gifted him Empire State of Mind for his birthday. “I read it and it opened my eyes. Up until then, music was just a hobby. I was a mechanical engineer, working, earning, running other businesses. Music was the only thing I did that wasn’t tied to a hustle. But that book made me see the big picture that it could actually be something more.”
Zack O’Malley Greenburg’s Empire State of Mind chronicles Jay-Z’s meteoric ascent from street corners to corner offices, the blueprint of hip-hop’s first billionaire. After reading that book, he stopped treating music like a hobby. For the first time, he started charging for collaborations between $500 and $1,500 per feature.
With this newfound business acumen, he funnelled 90 percent of his tour and show earnings back into his craft: Slicker videos, tighter production, sharper marketing. When major labels came knocking with lucrative deals, he turned them all down. “(Singer) Olamide wanted to sign me but I turned him down. Roc Nation (Jay Z record label) wanted to sign my song Skin Tight and I remember talking to Wizkid and he told me if they give me life-changing money then I should sign the song with them. But the money they offered… I didn’t think it was life changing and so I turned that offer down.”
Building a Legacy
In 2019, he launched emPawa Africa, a talent incubator, alongside his record label Banku Music. emPawa operates as a part charity, part investment incubator, designed to support emerging African artistes with funding, mentorship, and networks to build careers as independents. Under the model, Mr. Eazi invested directly in their music, released it through Banku Music, and took just 5 percent in distribution fees.
“I saw artistes as start-ups I could invest in. The first emPawa programme, sponsored by BetPawa, invested in it $1.1 million. We gave out grants between $3,000 and $5,000. I did that before releasing my second album.”
