Greatness is amplified when it comes in twos. Take Mr Eazi and King Promise: two giants of modern-day Afro-pop music, hailing from two of the most notable countries in the Western corner of Africa, namely Nigeria and Ghana. In this chapter, they unite as one for their new joint album, See What We’ve Done.
Built on over a decade of friendship and several previous tracks together, this project is a culmination of their deep bond and their talent combined. Created between London, Iceland and Dubai, the 9-track, genre-wandering album is an immediate triumph in collaborative artistry, grown from the roots of the Motherland and soaring across the pond.
Who could ask for a more fulfilling duo? We have award-winning Mr Eazi; an innovator, entrepreneur and pioneer. He has collaborated with the biggest stars of today, including Beyoncé and Bad Bunny, whilst paving the way for the new generation through his emPawa Africa initiative.
And King Promise, who has also placed himself at the helm of new-age Afrofusion. Crowned Ghana Music Award’s 2025 Artiste of the Year, Promise stands on a foundation of unforgettable musical offerings, including smash hits “Perfect Combi” and “Terminator”. He has worked alongside global talents from Wizkid and Davido to Headie One and NSG, and of course, Mr Eazi.
The meeting of these two highly-decorated African powerhouses has resulted in the most rewarding outcome: a body of music steeped in vibrant talent, true friendship and creative synergy. The day before their album drops, Mr Eazi and King Promise sit down with GRM to talk collaboration, brotherhood and making history.
How are you both doing?
Mr Eazi: “We’re good! Barcelona is playing shortly so I’m in that winning mode. It’s gonna be beautiful if they win and then and then the album drops. That would be a great run.”
How are you feeling about your album, See What We’ve Done, finally being released to the world?
King Promise: “Excited. It’s been a long time coming. We said we were gonna do this in 2020, but we only really started working on it last year. It’s taken six years to finally come together, but this is just the perfect timing. You know, things like this can’t be forced. You can’t rush greatness.”
Mr Eazi: “Most times, when people are making a joint project, it’s ’cause their teams want them to. For us, we’ve been wanting to do this.”
What would you tell new listeners before they explore the project?
King Promise: “I’d tell them, be ready to go through different emotions, from excitement to heartbreak to proud moments and fun moments. If you’re not as strong as I am, and if you’re soft like Eazi, you are going to literally bawl your eyes out. [Laughs]. If you are as fierce as I am, you’re gonna dance a lot. And if you are dangerous like Eazi, you are gonna be very, very daring. ‘Cause that’s what we are with this album – we’re very daring.”
And if you could curate the perfect environment for someone to listen to the See What We’ve Done, what would it be?
King Promise: “There’s music for every situation. There’s music for when you’re driving, music for when you’re with the boys, music for when you’re in the club.”
Mr Eazi: “I would say you should listen to it in the car. It would be a very lovely ride. There’s all sorts of energy, there’s even some soft road rage! So I’d say listen to it in a car and use good speakers.”
It feels like you pull from many different genres from Afrobeats to pop to R&B. What inspired the sounds of the project?
King Promise: “Freedom. The freedom to make a record that feels natural. When you’re making a body of work, it should be able to touch different sides of your artistry. It’s a proud moment as friends. We delve through brotherhood, love, family, and just great music. We’re two African giants doing it for the continent. We want to help shape the culture and the sound and the narrative, and that’s what we’ve done with this project.”
You can feel your bond through the music. Tell us more about when you met and the journey of your friendship.
King Promise: “We met in 2013. Is that 13 years ago? From where we started and how we met, 13 years later, look at us. We’ve actually done so much. We are just super happy and blessed to be in the positions we are in.”
Mr Eazi: “You’re my brother. If we had a baby, we could have had a full blown teenager by now. [Laughs]. I guess this album is our baby, right here. And in those 13 years, we’ve both grown in different ways as human beings and as friends, and we’ve both had a lot of success. We’ve had moments where we’re really close moments and moments where we’re not that close.”
King Promise: Yeah, we had that patch where we didn’t speak for two years.This is actually a true relationship, it’s not made up. We have ups and downs. There are times that we speak every day.
Mr Eazi – you have a huge amount of industry experience both centre-stage and behind the scenes. What are some of the key ingredients for a good collaboration?
Mr Eazi: “I realised that I’ve collaborated with some of the biggest names in the world – Beyonce, Bad Bunny, Rudemintal, Diplo. And I think the best collaborations are the ones that have some form of genuine relationship, even if that relationship only started in the studio.
The other day, someone pointed out that [King Promise and I] could work with almost anyone in the world if we really wanted to, so they asked ‘Oh, why didn’t you guys get some other features on this album?’ And we realised that we made this project for us. So to answer your question, the best thing about collaboration is when there’s an honest relationship between you. And it’ll show when you put out the music.”
King Promise – I know you’re from Accra. Over the years, we’ve seen the rise of Afrobeats from the West and South of the continent in particular. What do you see for the future of Afrobeats?
King Promise: “I think the future is clear. Before I had my first global success, people like Eazi made it clear that it’s possible to have a hit Afrobeats record in the UK, and that showed me that we’re on the right path. Now there are so many things that African artists are achieving, it just goes to show that we have always had something great. It was just a matter of time until the world found out.
And now it’s almost impossible to speak about global music without the dimension of African music. It’s a force. You had Beyoncé doing a whole album with African artists for The Lion King: The Gift. You had Drake dropping “One Dance” and collaborating with African artists. Then there’s me, dropping songs like “Paris” and “Terminator”, and then they’re smashing in Asia – like I’m playing in Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta and Bali.
The beauty of our music is that it cuts across the globe, regardless of backgrounds and culture. That’s the beauty about music. Bob Marley said: music, when it hits you, you feel no pain. You understand? It goes straight to the soul. African music is doing that right now.”
What impact do you want See What We’ve Done to have?
King Promise: “The main focus is to get this album out and just show it the love it deserves. To make sure it reaches the ears it has to reach. We hope the fans also get to appreciate the effort that we put into this. It took a lot, like even just being vulnerable and delving into each other’s emotions and career path and journeys.
And it’s all about bringing Afrobeats to the forefront, African music to the world. As much as it was organic, this is something that’s very serious and it’s a super personal project that I’m so proud of. Hopefully it’ll go down in the history books and shape the culture of African music and collaborations.”
That’s so powerful. And finally, Mr Eazi, what are some closing words you’d want to share with anyone who reads this interview?
Mr Eazi: “More collaborations, man. There needs to be more collaborations like this, crossing borders. I don’t wanna get this wrong but, in recent times at least, this is the first Ghanaian and Nigerian album. I don’t think there are many examples of artists doing this kind of cross-border collaboration and I think more of that needs to happen. We’re stronger together. The world is in a very crazy place right now, everything is so divisive. Music can be the space where people come together.”
Listen to the new album, See What We’ve Done, here with us on GRM Daily.