NOT EASY FOR EAZZY: EAZZY’S ATTEMPTS TO STAYING RELEVANT

NOT EASY FOR EAZZY: EAZZY’S ATTEMPTS TO STAYING RELEVANT

She was once the biggest female pop star in the country. Her singles were on everybody’s lips. She was changing the music scene and making a case for female musician in the country. Her music, her looks and her record label, like a cosmic design, all came together to put her at the forefront of the musical space. From 2010 till 2013, she was on top. Her first single ‘Bo Wo Nsem Ma Me’ (Clap for Me), on hindsight, captured her good run of form.
Eazzy (Mildred Ashong) was indeed the first lady (as she calls herself). Signed to Lynx Entertainment in 2009, the label groomed, supervised and executed some of the works she will be remembered for. Lynx Entertainment was between 2006 and 2013, the hit factory. The label and its engineer-Richie Mensah- popularized the new wave of Crunk music in Ghana and that attracted many artistes seeking their pound of hits.
From artistes whose career needed a boost (Okyeame Kwame), or wanted it resurrected (Mad Fish) or wishing for that one big hit all trooped to Lynx Entertainment, where their they got their heart desires presented to them at a cost of GHc 1,000 (that’s how much Richie was charging circa 2010).
Eazzy’s rise was spontaneous. She was a fresh faced lady who could sing and rap and dance in equal measure. Her versatility was obvious from the onset though she was criticized, after the release of her video Bo Wo Nsem M’ame as our very own Ghana-Beyoncé.
After releasing Wengeze, a comical, unintelligent, fun-filled song with an enchanting dance music influence-which also remains the biggest record of her career, the gloss of excellence that marked her career started wearing off. That descent from a formidable artiste to one currently with no ground to stand on hugely coincided with the dip in the fortunes of Lynx Entertainment.
The face of Lynx Entertainment, ASEM had waved the label Bye Bye, Zigi was asking You Say Wetin, O.J. Black was Chale Wote-ing and Eazzy was Go Go Winding her way out (every pun intended). Following her exit from Lynx, Eazzy found a new management team and dropped a single Rock This Party, which made rounds on radio. What followed was a few success outside music.

Eazzy co-hosted the 2013 Vodafone Ghana Music Awards in 2014 to good applauds. That same year, she represented Ghana, with her then boyfriend Keita at the Big Brother Africa Reality TV Show. Since then, she has struggled to capture the heights of success she once enjoyed. And the problem rest largely with the shallowness, banal and trashy music she is churning out.
For an artiste who once could be described as a leader, Eazzy is now struggling to even play a catch up. Her attempts at breaking through to the forefront continues to wobble. Now, she has resorted to dropping songs that makes her old fans drop their faces in their palms. Eazzy is struggling. Though her new single ‘Kpakposhito’ is gathering airplay, it’s an evidence of her desperation to be relevant.

What has accounted for this sharp decline is the fact that her songwriting skills is dying if not dead. And clearly, it is due to the absence of a songwriting structure that existed at Lynx Entertainment. At Lynx, aside boasting good songwriters like ASEM, songwriting was an exercise, a boot camp session. Artistes criticized and critiqued each other’s works; helping produce a very good work. From what Eazzy is putting out recently, she misses that honest song critiquing sessions.
Eazzy is not a spent force. She still has the talent to claim what was once her place within the music scene. Her versatility is an asset-she sings and raps pretty well as she has exemplified on DJ Black’s Open House Party times she has been featured on.
Eazzy has to take time out, not allow the pressure to prove herself get to her, plan her next move and get some good songwriters to help her craft an excellent piece of work. This seeming attempt to stay relevant is, in my estimation, turning into a quicksand which is swallowing her up gradually.

NB: I must say admit, Eazzy’s new single with Stonebwoy Na Na Remix is becoming a personal favourite (I hate to say I have a hunch Stonebwoy wrote the song).