In his pursuit of artistic growth, Nigerian rapper Blade Escobar has been exploring the space between hardcore hip-hop and more accessible sounds. His extended play, Hits Only, No Mrs, captures that transition, blending rap with R&B, Afrobeats, Afroswing and trap while offering a glimpse into his state of mind during its creation.
In this exclusive interview with Streamdorm, Blade Escobar discusses the inspiration behind the seven-track project, the financial and professional challenges that delayed its completion, and the creative struggles that shaped its opening track, “The Long Ass Intro.”
He also explains why the full version of the song was eventually released as “Unholy Deeds,” reflects on his ambitions as an artist, and shares what he hopes listeners will understand about him through the project.
A project is a form of art; sometimes what an artist is trying to communicate may be interpreted differently by listeners. What part of yourself did you put into Hits Only, No Mrs that you would struggle to explain to someone who only listens to the music?
Blade Escobar: Beautiful question.
I guess I put my undiluted artistic self into the EP, as the whole project tells a story of my state of mind, precisely in 2024, when I was recording it.
I painted a picture that goes way beyond just melodies and rhymes, and honestly, it’s up to the listeners to decode it.
Let’s go back to when the EP started coming together. What was going on in your life, career or mind that made these particular songs necessary? What survived the recording process, and what changed along the way?
Blade Escobar: So basically, I was adding finishing touches to my debut project, Egos (The Mixtape), while recording with my main producer at the time, OnlyOneWerey, when he played my guy’s EP for me. My guy’s name is Gochi, and he had an absolutely beautiful EP ready for release. He was also adding finishing touches to it. This was in 2023.
My initial plan was to drop my official debut album after the first mixtape, but after I heard Gochi’s EP, it made me restrategise and think about dropping one myself.
I wanted to transition from just making hardcore rap songs to making music everyone could vibe to, while still preserving the hip-hop part of me. That’s the kind of project I eventually put out.
I recorded all the songs the following year, in 2024, using YouTube beats. Then I got some producers to reproduce the songs, and that took quite some time.
The funding for mixing and mastering also slowed everything down because I was working a job that couldn’t see me paying for the mixing and mastering of all seven songs with a month’s salary! The stress of my former job was there as well, and I hardly had time for my music.
I eventually changed jobs, though, and was able to conclude paying for the mixing and mastering of all seven songs.
I guess I shortened some songs, and that’s what changed as I was fine-tuning the EP and adding finishing touches to it. For example, the first chorus on “Wekere” was longer, but I had advice from some friends, including my younger brother, to cut it short, and it worked perfectly!
I also recorded another song that didn’t make it onto the EP but is in the vault. It would probably make it onto a subsequent project.
Which record on the EP challenged you the most creatively, and what made it difficult? Was there something you changed that made the song come out differently, and what would it have sounded like originally?
Blade Escobar: I guess the intro challenged me the most. Initially, I wanted to make this EP lean more towards commercial music and Afrobeats to garner more fans. But after recording the first seven songs, leaving one of them out for the intro eventually, I wasn’t at peace. I usually had at least one song where I’d spazz out lyrically and talk about societal issues.
I mean, I had written the outro, which is also lyrically bonkers, but I needed another core rap song to set the tone for the project!
I decided to make that song the intro, and it was very hard getting a beat for it until I checked my producer Aimix’s Instagram page. I knew that was just the beat for me! When I got the beat, I was going through writer’s block rap-wise, but my inspiration for Afrobeats was on fire!
I had to listen to some grimy hip-hop and some of my old raps to clear off that writer’s block. Guess what? When I cleared the writer’s block, I had an overflow of inspiration. That’s why the main version of the song, minus the voice note, is about 4 minutes and 30 seconds long, while the uncut version is about 6 minutes and 30 seconds long.
Yes, I had to cut the song shorter on the main version of the EP, and I purposefully named it “The Long Ass Intro” so it would water down the effect of how long the song is, and it worked.
The song was initially supposed to be called “Unholy Deeds.” If you notice, you can hear that all over the samples. The good news, though, is that I just dropped the uncut version, where I released the full version of the song under the name “Unholy Deeds.”
The outro also has another version with a beat by a Grammy-winning American producer called Stoic Beats. I used his beat for the song, renamed “Hits Only, No Mrs Outro” on the uncut version of the EP.
May I also add that if this project were an album, traditionally longer than just seven tracks, I’d have split the intro into two separate tracks. But because an EP can’t exceed seven songs, I had to squeeze all the content into one track. This was because I wanted the whole message conveyed in the song.
Which song on Hits Only, No Mrs do you think people are most likely to misunderstand, and what do you hear in that record that you suspect they might miss? Has anyone’s reaction to the EP made you reconsider the meaning of something you wrote?
Blade Escobar: My core rap fans may misunderstand the fact that I made an EP that fused rap with R&B, Afrobeats, Afroswing and trap. They may not have liked that at first, but the fact that the EP is sonically appealing will make them come around.
What do I suspect they might miss? I suspect that the ordinary pedestrian music listener may miss the story that the whole EP is trying to tell. It will fly over many heads for sure.
I also don’t think I’ve had any reaction that made me reconsider anything I wrote, maybe except the raunchy voice notes I added, which I used to help add to the holistic picture I was trying to paint with the EP.
What is the most uncomfortable truth about yourself that you have had to confront while pursuing music? Has your ambition cost you anything personally that you’re still trying to make peace with?
Blade Escobar: The most uncomfortable truth I’ve had to tell myself is that I probably wouldn’t be a Wiz or a Burna in the end, and that’s okay, as long as I’m happy making this music and people connect to it. One thing I have at the back of my mind, though, is that I’m going to make it, even if it wouldn’t be through music!
My ambition hasn’t cost me anything personally.
What is the most significant thing happening in your career right now that the public doesn’t know about? If you can share it, what stage is it at, and what would it mean for the next chapter of your career?
Blade Escobar: Well, I guess it’s the fact that more people now know me for being able to make good music generally, not just good rap music.
It’s also the fact that I’ve garnered more listeners.
What will people understand about the kind of person you were while making Hits Only, No Mrs when they listen to it a few years down the road?
Blade Escobar: They’ll probably think I was a careless guy who loved women and having fun a lot, but also an introspective person who was very conscious about societal issues.
They’d also be able to see the fact that I’m a very self-aware, confident, and serious person, from the rap side of the project to the way I packaged the music.