Egbezi
Egbezi | |
|---|---|
 Egbezi at a friend's home studio in Lagos (2016) | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Ebizimor Anthony Ogbe |
| Also known as | Tha Rap Scientist |
| Born | April 5, 1988 (age 29) |
| Origin | Warri, Nigeria |
| Genres | Hip-Hop |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper, songwriter, medical laboratory scientist |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Associated acts | A-Q, Boogey, Adol, Malyna, Str8 money GT |
Ebizimor Anthony Ogbe (born April 5, 1988), better known by his stage name, Egbezi is a highly unique and creative hip-hop recording artist, songwriter, and an occasional music producer from Warri, a popular city situated in the southern province of Nigeria.[1] Egbezi's musical career began in his undergraduate school days in late 2011. However, he first gained recognition when he dropped his ‘No chorus freestyle’ in early 2012, which later appeared on his critically acclaimed debut mixtape, street motivation (2013).[2]
Early Life
Ebizimor Anthony Ogbe was born on April 5, 1988, at a Government central hospital in Sapele, Delta State, to Mr. & Mrs. Ogbe, both of Ijaw descent from Burutu LGA of Delta State, Nigeria. A couple of months after his birth, his parents moved to Warri, where he was raised. He grew up in a multi-ethnic sport and music-loving environment, where he developed a great passion for music across various genres. Egbezi started rapping at the age of 13, listening to and miming the songs of a host of artistes, from Ja Rule to Nas, Eminem, Fat Joe, and Tupac Shakur. However, he wrote his first song at the age of 17, and became serious with his music only at the age of 23.[1]
Egbezi attended Nana primary school Warri, R.S.U.S.T International Secondary School (I.S.S.) Onne, Rivers State, and United College Warri. Afterwards, in 2008, he obtained a national diploma in Science laboratory technology from Bayelsa State College of Arts and Science, Yenagoa. In the 2009–2010 academic sessions, he was offered a direct entry admission into Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho to study Medical Laboratory Science. Here, he developed more interest in rap when he met with some like-minds. Egbezi, along with three of his friends, formed a music group in early 2011 called "strawberry boiz" (StrawBoiz). They started doing freestyle for the fun of it, until at some point in time when they started seeing it as a way of life (as a career).[1] During his university days, he was often called Tha rap scientist by his fellow medical colleagues, due to his unique style of rhymes and lyrics which combines medical terms with normal English words, forming words like "hyperlyricaemia (excess lyrics in the blood)" and so on. Hence, till date, he is also known by the alias, Tha rap scientist.
Career
Egbezi launched his professional solo career in late 2011 when he was 23.[1] By this time, the Warri-bred lyricist started recording and posting songs on various online music platforms under the handle “Egbezi”. Despite his seemingly sudden incursion into the Nigerian rap scene, he took a bite into the pie of creative comparison with vets such as M.I and Mode9.[3] Till date, the MC has released quite a number of impressive musical projects, with the most recent being his 2016 double releases: a "zero feature" mixtape titled S.A.G.A.R (Setting Aside Guidelines And Rules) and the second installment of his EP sequel, MA Heart: With a Pen & Paper II.[4] [5] Making him the first Warri MC to have released four hip-hop projects.
Following the early release of his “no chorus freestyle” (2012) which gained a healthy dose of airplay on various radio stations across the country, the rapper was forced to combine his tedious and time-consuming academics with music despite being an unsigned MC with lots of upsets and setbacks. During that same year, he dropped a couple of singles including 'screaming please', 'dying to live' (which featured A-Q), and the street anthem 'all join', whose visuals were later shot the subsequent year. Egbezi released his debut mixtape in April 2013, titled “Street motivation” which became a trending topic on various entertainment and social media sites across the country.[6]
As a follow-up to his street motivation mixtape, Egbezi released his second musical compilation on June 27, 2014, an EP (extended play) titled MA Heart: With a Pen and Paper, which gained positive reviews[7]. And this would go on to become one of the best hip-hop projects with fewer features to be ever released as far as hip-hop in Nigeria is concerned.[1]
Artistry
Influences
Egbezi has cited several MCs in influencing his style of rapping, including Tupac Shakur, Fat Joe, Eminem, Fugees and Nas. He mastered the arts of rhyming, wordplay and storytelling through his lyrics, which in his own words are a reflection of "normal everyday happenings of our society, the streets to be more precise."[6]
Collaborations
Although Egbezi's track record of features has narrowed in recent times, he has worked with various producers and artists such as Beats by Jayy (BBJN), P-fizzy (the Producer of yung6ix's OMG), Wolexly, A-Q, Boogey, Adol, Malyna, Lil P, StrawBoiz, and Str8 money GT (a US-based female rapper).
Discography
- Street Motivation (2013)
- MA Heart: With a Pen & Paper (2014)
- MA Heart: With a Pen & Paper II (2016)
- S.A.G.A.R (Setting Aside Guidelines And Rule) (2016)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 eMinor. "Egbezi | Hip Hop from Warri, NG". ReverbNation. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
- ↑ "Mixtape: Egbezi – Street Motivation | Jaguda.com". Retrieved 2017-07-11.
- ↑ "Egbezi Makes a Musical Entrance". Simply SAMAD. 2012-07-03. Retrieved 2017-07-14.
- ↑ "MIXTAPE: Egbezi – S.A.G.A.R. (Setting Aside Guidelines And Rules)". tooxclusive.com. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
- ↑ "MA Heart: With a Pen & Paper 2 EP". SoundCloud. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Egbezi Speaks About His Music, Style and Plans [Interview]". Simply SAMAD. 2013-06-10. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
- ↑ "360Downloads: Egbezi Presents "MA Heart: With A Pen & Paper" EP". 360Nobs.com. 2014-06-27. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
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