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Lovin Meets: Eaz Da Bully
Born and raised in Oxford, UK, Eaz is a staple amongst the Sudanese music community, contributing raps that transcends traditional sounds and expectations of music from the homeland.
Though a part of the Sudanese diaspora his whole life, Eaz has always ensured that he maintained a close bond to Sudan.
“I have a musical lineage that probably dates back to the 18th century, really.”
Coming from a family filled with Bashir Abbas’ entrancing oud skills and Bas’ captivating head-bops, it comes as no surprise that Eaz has channelled Sudanese culture and traditions into his artistry, inevitably impacting his musical journey.
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Like many Sudanese children both in and out of the diaspora, it took a while for Eaz to appreciate and resonate with some of the Sudanese greats as he was growing up. He tells Lovin’ of his grandmother’s favourite artist, Ibrahim Al Kashif.
“I grew up in the UK, so I didn’t really hear much Sudanese music that appealed to me. I’m listening to Tupac [and etc.], so whenever I’m hearing Sudanese music as a kid, I’m just like, turn this off! But I grew to appreciate Sudanese music so much more the older I got.”
National admiration for Al Kashif’s music was always prominent, though it experienced a profound wave of resonation during the Sudanese revolution of 2018/19. His song ‘Balad al Kheir’, otherwise known as ‘Ana Afriki, Ana Sudani’, was sung in the streets of Khartoum to display the deep patriotism of the revolutionaries.
“[the country’s] stars are eyes that look towards better days”
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NO THERAPY LIKE MUSICAL THERAPY
Eaz has been making music for around 15 years, though there’s certainly a fair portion of his music yet to be released. Curiosity naturally led us to ask how he managed to stay inspired through it all.
“It’s my therapy, so whenever I feel down or low […] my second thought to release some of that tension is to hit that paper.”
Pain is a big source of his inspiration so, when the going gets tough, the ink gets rough.
It wasn’t always personal issues – many difficulties emerged due to the political and economic instability faced in Khartoum since April 2023. When clashes broke off, Eaz was too focused on getting his family, friends and loved ones to evacuate the city, done in true diaspora fashion.
Many artists have emerged with war songs to raise awareness of the current situation in Sudan, as well as lyrical love letters to the country, in an attempt to make sense of their grief. Where does Eaz fit into it all?
“Music is therapy, I’ve definitely written some stuff about it, so we’ll see.”
Drop the tapes, Eaz!
NATURAL FLOW
Some artists have lyrical flow, some an enchanting tone and others a natural charisma that effortlessly plays with the beat.
With Eaz, we can’t help but tick all of the above. With a beautiful bass vocal range, a witty way with words and a charming persona painting his drill-style flow, he somehow makes the game look so easy.
https://t.co/n0l48SNDdf @eazdabully https://t.co/HiyQ2Yc9Mk
— Aidyproof (@Aidyproof) September 17, 2023
In his truly humble nature, Eaz credits a portion of his ability to collaborations done with other Sudanese artists, thanking AKA Keyz for helping him learn flow patterns and Aidyproof and G-Salih for expanding his vocabulary when lyric-writing.
Of course, any Eaz da Bully fan would know that the OG duo is Eaz x YK, an iconic collaboration of two of our favourite UK based Sudanese rappers.
“That’s the guy I really started off with. We were a duo back then, so we used to have friendly competition. I really got better because of YK.”
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Eaz and YK’s 2020 EP Home Run 2, aside from winning our hearts, touched on topics that hit close to home for some. As the saying goes, misery loves company, and for music lovers and Eaz fans, the EP was a refuge for the wide range of trials and tribulations of life.
“Coming from the gutter it was hard to recover from all this trauma and the karma that done hit us. Thinking back, death must have missed us numerous times, man it’s ridiculous.” – Join the Party, Home Run 2 EP
“If my absence doesn’t bother you my presence never mattered. Few things that I’ve gathered on my way, my heart shattered into pieces, now my ups and downs all flattened like the streets is.” – Filthy, Home Run 2 EP
The ones that get it, get it.
MOVE WITH THE MOVEMENT
Though his rich voice and assertive lyrics tend to culminate a melancholy mood of sorts, his musical range radiates through other songs of his such as ‘Money’ with Maman and the fan favourite ‘Bahry Baby’ with Rotation.
It’s no surprise, however, that the Sudanese drill song ‘Asly’ with TooDope heavily contributed to putting Eaz on the global map, gaining over 3.1 million views on Youtube and named in a list of ‘7 Hard Drill Tracks From Around The World’ by GRM Daily.
Asly just hit a million views 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾❤️appreciate all of you❤️! About to get some salatat dakwa to celebrate 🥜 🧈 🥗
— Eaz (@eazdabully) January 31, 2021
Creating a tasteful fusion of Sudanese slang and culture, the Chicago-born drill genre and the UK music scene’s sound, Eaz phenomenally contributed to creating a hybrid style with his verse on the anthem and flawlessly executed those three elements while remaining in perfect harmony with TooDope.
It is truly befitting that Eaz is featured on the first drill song to come out of Sudan, considering how well his bass tone, rhythmic flow and musical personality fits into the growing genre.
CLOAK OF INVISIBILITY
Rappers tend to be surrounded by a stereotype that paints them as quite rough, though Eaz’s vibrant sense of humour and generous hospitality immediately broke the ice when we excitedly conducted our interview. In a not-so-subtle attempt to draw Eaz out of his slightly nonchalant nature, we asked him what he thought his most out-of-pocket habit is that others may not be aware of. Turns out, Da Bully loves to remain lowkey by using his hoodie as a cloak of protection.
“I’ve always got a hoodie on, always in my little shell, protected, safe, and can do more without people judging me.”
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ALWAYS ON GOOD VIBES
With Sudan now over a year deep into a war, it’s imperative that we find any source of inspiration and positivity to keep moving forward and create a fulfilling reality out of our dreams and hard work. Despite the circumstances, Eaz always reminds us to keep pushing through and hold on to our vision and positive mindset:
“A big shoutout to all the Sudanese artists that are pushing and trying to get to the top. I know it’s a tough job, but we gotta keep striving and keep believing and hoping that we can get to a better place one day.”
