Fil-Am rapper Ez Mil becomes first Asian artist to sign with Eminem, Dr. Dre’s record labels
By Ryan General
Filipino American rapper Ez Mil has signed a record deal with Eminem’s Shady Records, Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment and major label Interscope Records.
Historic signing: Ez Mil, whose real name is Ezekiel Miller, is now in the exclusive company of only one other rapper, 50 Cent, to be directly signed to all three labels. This achievement marks the first time an Asian artist has been signed under the rap legends’ labels.
Ez Mil took to Instagram on Wednesday to announce the news, sharing a photo of himself alongside the two iconic rappers.
The news was also confirmed on Shady Records’ Facebook page, where they expressed their excitement about signing the artist.
In a press release, Dr. Dre shared his enthusiasm in working with Ez Mil.
I’m really only interested in working on shit that sounds different from anything else going on out there, and only then if I feel I can really bring something to it. Em played me Ez and I had that feeling … that thing that happens when we both know we’ve found something special. And that was it … let’s get to work.
Collab with Eminem: Eminem first discovered Ez Mil’s music via the music video for his single “Up Down” released in February. In March, the artist met with Dr. Dre and Eminem in Los Angeles for the first time, leading to the eventual co-signing.
The meeting also led to the recording of the track “Realest,” one of the singles featured in Ez Mil’s upcoming album “DU4LI7Y: REDUX,” set to release in August.
“We’ve never been out there signing a lot of artists, and one of the great things about how we built Shady is how selective we’ve been,” Eminem was quoted as saying. “And it’s even rarer that Dre and I sign something together – but I heard Ez’s music and was like, ‘this is really special,’ so I took it to Dre. We both agreed it would be a great fit and we wanted to work with him right on the spot.”
Rising star: Born in the Olongapo, Philippines, Ez Mil rose to fame in 2021 following his viral performance of “Panalo (Trap Carinosa)” on the Wish Bus USA. Since then, he has been making waves in the music industry with his talent.
“Panalo” is included on the soundtrack for the video game “NBA 2k23” and is one of the songs he performed live in an NBA halftime performance during a game between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Utah Jazz in November 2022 as part of the league’s Filipino Heritage Night.
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