Ebenezer on London vs. LA, 'Bad Romantic II' & Being The Best
Today we catch up with self-taught, multi-talented musician and overall creative, Ebenezer. Hailing from London, Ebenezer’s passion and talent have taken him far, as he has lent his gift of songwriting and production to collaborations with Jeremih, Ty Dolla $ign, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Stefflon Don and Craig David’s #1 UK album, ‘Following My Intuition’.
Although he could’ve stopped there, being content in the background, Ebenezer dropped his debut EP, ‘Bad Romantic’ in 2017 to critical acclaim. Since then he has earned praise from The Fader, MTV UK, Vice, in addition to Clash Magazine who crowned him as the “Next Wave” of innovative artists.
With 12Tone acting as his new playing ground, Ebenezer releases ‘Bad Romantic 2’ earlier this year, with the self-produced single, “Flaws And All”, which is already hitting on 2 Million streams. Serving as the sequel to ‘Bad Romantic’, BR2 pulls at the heartstrings of love’s growing pains with superb production and smooth vocals.
Learn more about the project and Ebenezer’s journey in this super exclusive Hype Off Life interview, where he gets into life in LA, Kanye West’s influence on his career, and what drives his success.
Growing up in Hackney, London before moving to LA must’ve been a huge leap for you. What differences and similarities have you noticed between both music scenes?
I grew up in East London but settled in north London and as you could imagine it was a huge leap. The main difference is LA is way more spread out than London, everybody drives cars, London is very fast-paced and we rely heavily on our public transport system. In terms of music, LA is where people all over the world come to make music, it’s one of the biggest hubs where you can bump into your favorite artist and potentially get in a session with them easier than it would be in London.
How did you get into songwriting?
I always loved music but getting into the writing side came from listening to artists like Kanye West, Drake, and Nas amongst a huge list, I always wanted to write songs... but after hearing 'College Dropout' by Kanye I was like I have to do this.
If you could induct any 3 songwriters into the Hall of Fame, who would they be?
I don’t think I’d induct any, there are too many talented songwriters, plus there are too many unknown phenomenal writers with phenomenal songs who just haven’t been given the opportunity for their songs to be heard.
When did you know you were made to be a musician?
I knew I was made to be a musician when I saw people’s reactions to music. They’d really break down my song and tell me how much and why they loved it, which in turn brought me soo much happiness.
Your new project, ’Bad Romantic 2’ picks up where 2018’s ‘Bad Romantic’ left off, offering smooth sounds of your take on love as it relates to life. What made you decide to keep the vibe going instead of starting a whole new concept?
I mean, it’s something I’m still being called to this day in the relationships I get in, I do try. However, the catch 22 is they love what I do but hate the time it takes up in my everyday life.
Will you be dropping any visuals from the project?
I recently just drop visuals for "Mariachi Flow", I might do another, I haven’t decided as of yet.
You say you plan on being around for a long time and will always make something better than your last. What fuels your drive?
Being the best. There is nobody I know Who can write a great song, produce it, record it all, and mix it to the standard that I do it.
Stream 'Bad Romantic II'
