Thursday, March 28, 2024

Eddie Black discusses his new E.P “Mr. Helium Prime”

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eddie black

Eddie Black is a pseudonym that has grown to be popular among the majority of the Zambian folk who are avid followers of the Hip Hop culture. His name often precedes him because of the admirable qualities such as the formidable energy he exudes on the microphone and his ability to beautifully contort rhymes, punch lines and metaphors effortlessly on tracks which can be attributed to it.
Born Nathaniel Edward Bangira Nchemba on the 29th of April , he began his rap career in 2011 .Over the years he has produced hits such as “Bangumweko” , “Mujulu” ,“Where are you” and most recently “Soundtrack” . In 2014 he released his debut E.P entitled “Letters from Rhodesia”.

On his birthday April 29th 2016, Eddie Black released his 2nd studio EP,’Mr. Helium Prime’. The project was released under Helium Prime Media and has 10 tracks on it all produced by Peezey Cables.

Eddie Black sat down with us to discuss “Mr. Helium Prime”.

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KAPA187: On 29th April you released your E.P “Mr. Helium Prime”. Tell us about the E.P and how you came up with the title.

Eddie Black:  My Producer (Peezey Cables) and I formed a record label in 2013 and we called it Helium Prime Media, hence the title of this project Mr. Helium Prime.

KAPA187: Describe the processes of making this E.P., was it something that came together quickly or have you been working on it for some time?

Eddie Black:  This is an idea that came in March; it’s not something I have been planning for a long time, though the songs were recorded in different years. I’m just warming up to the main event which is my debut album which is set to drop very very soon.

KAPA187: Having been in the music industry for some time now, why did you decide to release an E.P instead of a full length album?

Eddie Black:  Like I said this is a pre-album project, I’ve been off the grid for a while “just though I send out a reminder, here it is” hehehe

KAPA187: From the time “Mr. Helium Prime” was released, what has the response been like from your fans?

Eddie Black:  We have received a very positive response from the fans and I would like to extend gratitude for that. This was very short notice for them but they still came through and the response is overwhelming.

KAPA187: Since your first hit single, “Bangumweko”, which was released some years ago, you have worked with producer Peezy Cables, collaborating with him a number of times. He produced all 10 songs on your current E.P.  What is it about Peezy Cables that makes him your go-to producer?

Eddie Black:  Peezey Cables and I are like Dre and Eminem, like Drake and 40. I am working with a lot of producers for my album, though with this particular project we decided to keep everything in-house. Because of the title Mr. Helium Prime, we decided everything should be from Helium Prime.

KAPA187: Two of my favorite songs on “Mr. Helium Prime” are ‘Papu’, which features Joe Chibangu, and ‘Bad Boy’. Tell us about these two songs.

Eddie Black:  Papu is a song we recorded at RomaSide back in 2014; Joe Chibangu asked if we could do a song together and I and Peezey had this beat and hook, I was honored to have a legend on a song with me. Bad boy is just one of those songs where I describe the life of a playa. I recorded half the song last year and the other half 2 days before the release date hehe

eddie black

KAPA187: You experimented with some sounds your fans may not be used to hearing you on. Such as the EDM inspired ‘Will get there” and elements of house music on ‘Leka 2’.  Was this a way of showing your diversity?

Eddie Black:  This project is a collection of art from different times in my career, for instance I was heartbroken once upon a time during which I was listening to a lot of James Blunt, so I wrote ‘Let me be your man’ on a pop rock instrumental that’s like 4 years ago. In 2013 I got ‘Nothing but the beat’ by David Guetta and at the time Peezey was working on an ad for some company, the soundtrack was what I asked him to modify into the ‘Will get there’ song. I don’t know about other People but most times my content is influenced by my immediate environment.

 

KAPA187: The first single off “Mr. Helium Prime” is ‘Soundtrack’ which features Badman shapi. It is accompanied by an amazing video. What is the concept of the song? And are there plans on making any more videos soon?

Eddie Black:  Soundtrack is a love song where I’m telling a girl, she’s the beat to my heart and whenever she touches me I do the ‘Skelewu’. All Badman Shapi’s idea, I just wrote my bars after he did the hook. Most definitely I intend to do some more videos for my album.

KAPA187: Zambian music videos have tremendously improved in quality in the recent past. Granted many of them are seen on international channels such us Mtv Base, Channel O, Trace, but why, in your opinion, are they rarely played on said channels. You will have to watch a music channel for the whole day for you to see a Zambian music video. Whereas Nigerian and South African videos are on heavy rotation.

Eddie Black:  To be honest, I don’t know why that is so, because every day Zambian videos are submitted to these channels just like everyone else. Perhaps there is something else these people do to get the heavy rotation; we need to get on that ASAP

KAPA187: For those who have not had the chance to listen to the E.P, where can they get it from?

Eddie Black:  My music is available everywhere online. YouTube, Google me. For CD’s details are on my social media pages. Facebook: Eddie Black : Twitter @eddieblackbaby : Instagram @eddieblackbaby

KAPA187: Any last words…

Eddie Black:  I would like to say thank you to everyone supporting the Eddie Black movement, sometimes I amaze, sometimes I disappoint but thank you for staying with me through the years. Black Supremacy album coming soon. I love y’all

 

‘MR. Helium Prime’ is avaliable on itunes ,Youtube , SoundCloud , and many other online sources . For more info contact Eddie Black on social media 

Facebook: Eddie Black

Twitter: @eddieblackbaby

Instagram: @eddieblackbaby

SoundTrack Ft Badman Shapi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t3Y7hO_1H0

Papu Ft Joe Chibangu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiNgfR7JwxA

 

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BY KAPA187

 

 

 

 

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