Ezra Collective share “Ego Killah,” the third single from their forthcoming album Where I’m Meant To Be, due November 4th via Partisan Records.
The reggae and dub-inspired song arrives coupled with a visualizer that features a timelapse of the band rehearsing inside of the Where I’m Meant To Be album artwork set-build. “Ego Killah” follows the summer-anthem “Victory Dance,” which PAPER described as “electric, unpredictable” and the album’s opening track “Life Goes On” featuring Sampa The Great, which arrived with a music video directed by Nathan Miller.
Speaking about the new track, bandleader Femi Koleoso says:
“At the very heart of Ezra Collective is the influence of reggae, dub and sound system culture. Soundsystems such as Channel One, Aba Shanti-I and Jah Shaka.
On our first EP release, Chapter 7, Colonial Mentality taps into this energy. Ego Killah is from the same family of thought.
This title, Ego Killah is one we can all relate to. It’s the point in a journey where you become your own worst enemy. Where progression has to happen on the inside before you can see the fruit on the outside. The ability to kill your ego will serve you on your journey going forward. Sometimes where you’re meant to be, hasn’t happened yet, because of your own ego. That’s when you need the Ego Killah.”
Where I’m Meant To Be is a thumping celebration of life, an affirming elevation in the Ezra Collective’s winding hybrid sound and refined collective character. With its album cover referencing Thelonious Monk’s Underground, the songs marry cool confidence with bright energy. Full of call-and-response conversations between their ensemble parts, a natural product of years improvising together on-stage, the album – which also features Sampa The Great, Kojey Radical, Emile Sande and Nao – will light up sweaty dance floors and soundtrack summer dinners in equal measure.
The band’s 2019 debut album You Can’t Steal My Joy seamlessly married the delicacies and classic sounds of jazz with afrobeat, hip-hop and dancehall rhythms for a sound that cemented them as one of the UK’s most exciting acts among the country’s burgeoning jazz resurgence. With the project, the band was named one of the great musical discoveries from SXSW, one of the best rising bands to listen to, and one of the liveliest groups in London based on their own fresh and imaginative spin on jazz’s timeless footprint.
Alongside the new single, Ezra Collective also announce their 2023 UK/EU tour launching next February with stops in Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam, London and more. Tickets go on-sale next Friday, September 30th and full details can be found here.
