At 25, Filipino Rapper Ez Mil Signs Record Deal With Eminem and Dr. Dre
Filipino-American rapper Ez Mil announced on July 27 that he has signed a deal with three major international record labels—Eminem's Shady Records, Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, and Interscope Records (the label managing both Eminem and Dr. Dre). At 25, he joins an exclusive group of artists who have been signed to all three labels, like “In Da Club” rapper 50 Cent, who was signed in 2002.
You might remember Ez Mil for the Wish Bus USA performance of his song Panalo, which incorporated patriotic bars to a trap beat of the Filipino folk song Cariñosa. The video instantly became a viral hit, amassing 79 million views since its posting in 2021.
Embed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJSbt6cPbmA&t=2s
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According to an article posted by Shady Records, Eminem discovered Ez Mil’s talent through his single Up Down, which he released a music video for last February. The Olongapo-born rapper then drove from Las Vegas—where he resides now with his family—to meet Eminem and Dr. Dre for the first time. They kept in contact after this, and the rest is history.
The article praises Ez for songwriting know-how, impressive flow, and keen knowledge of his audience.
“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. 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,” said Eminem.
Dr. Dre added, “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.”
Following the deal, Ez Mil also let his fans know that his forthcoming project, DU4LI7Y: REDUX, a deluxe edition of his 2022 LP, is set to drop on August 11. It even includes an intense new single called Realest, which features Eminem.
