With over 73 million views for his live “Panalo” performance on the Wish USA Bus, rap artist EZ Mil is ready to give listeners a glimpse of who the artist is behind the music.
Fil-Am Ezekiel Miller, 23, bares his soul in his second studio album, “DU4LI7Y,” distributed by Virgin Music/UMG.Composed of ten tracks, “DU4LI7Y” tells EZ’s story, starting with the death metal “Rapture,” and followed by “Ridin’ With the Moonlight,” “Can U Keep a Secret?,” “Spining,” “27 Bodies,” “Dalawampu’t Dalawang Oo (2200),” “Re-Up,” “Up-Down,” “Greed” and “Will You.”
“‘DU4LI7Y’ in itself just explains kasi nung nagsimula ako sa music, may identity crisis kung ano ba dapat ang ipresenta ko sa mundo , tapos eto sinosolidify that I don’t really have to be too much of anything else but myself,” EZ said at his recent press con at URBN QC.
“DU4LI7Y,” produced and engineered by EZ Mil himself, showcases the musician’s versatility as he bounces between languages, changes flows, and effortlessly floats over beats. Filled with everything from repentance, to love, to heartbreak to hometown pride, EZ Mil paints an intricate portrait of his life in the Philippines that highlights his genre fluidity and reveals a more mature, refined musician.
It is full of symbolism. The 4 and 7 in its title refers to the area code of his hometown — Olongapo. Its artwork depicts EZ Mil with his alterego .
“I feel I’m two people,” he said, “which explains the album art Slashmouth that is peering out of my neck and that’s the music I first started to play, which was death metal, and I’m excited for everyone to listen to the first song that it just breaks me down. EZ Mil is being broken down by Slashmouth himself.”
The latest 10-track project is a continuation of his first album, released in 2020, “Act 1.”
Where “Act 1” envelops EZ in a haze of darkness, “DU4LI7Y” sees him emerge from that darkness back into the light as he returns to both his roots and to himself.
“It’s a cluster jam of genres,” he shared. “As a musician, it’s the most challenging project I’ve attempted yet, and this is just the beginning. I’m sharing my stories using all the musical genres — like an audiobook or even audio movie if you will. I choose to not be stuck in a box, to share my story with you, whichever genre to match the emotion at that moment.”
The opening track “Rapture” picks up where “Act 1” left off, with his growly-voiced, deathcore alter-ego with ripping guitar riffs and beating drums. “Can U Keep A Secret?” is a Michael Jackson-inspired track with jazzy instrumentals where EZ describes his mother rescuing his family from familial strife. The synthy “Spining” sees the rapper vent about living a life without his father over a “spinning” two-chord melody from the bottom of his spine, and from the depths of his soul. Where “Up Down” mixes a futuristic beat with old school rap, “Greed” spins into a hip-hop, light-hearted love song to bring listeners fully out of the darkness and into the light. The final track, “Will You” is a grandiose, string-filled, choir-esque ballad that shows the artist’s growth as the musician is unafraid to show his devotion to his loved ones and above all, remains true to himself.
Along with the release of the album, Ez Mil has shared the heartfelt, R&B-leaning “Ridin’ With the Moonlight” and its accompanying official video. The track reveals a softer, more sensitive side of the musician where his smooth vocals take the lead, unlike many previously released singles. The video features the story of a creature’s diary.
“27 Bodies,” the most recent single from “DU4LI7Y” and its official music video is Ez Mil’s take on putting his own instrumentals to his “24 Bars Challenge”—which racked up more than 7.9 million views on his original YouTube upload—with a twist of speaking truth about societal failures. “27” is his favorite number and “bodies” represents victims of societal brutality.
“I hope my track enlightens people, or at least make them critically think and be aware of our society. Let’s not get blindsided with the good and be ignorant with evil,” EZ said.
“27 Bodies” follows the previously released ode to the Philippines, “Dalawampu’t Dalawang OO (2200),” and an official music video quickly followed. Rapped in Tagalog, the national language of the Philippines, the track pays homage to his hometown, Olongapo City, Philippines, and served as an apt segue into his most recent tour of his home country. For the first time ever, Ez Mil performed to legions of fans live across the Philippines, and will be concluding with an unforgettable show in his hometown on August 13 at Subic Gym, then will be coming to London in October.”
“DU4LI7Y’s” explosive first single, “Re-Up,” was his first of 2022, and highlights his aggressive vocal style and ability to expertly turn any beat into his own as EZ seamlessly switches back and forth between Tagalog and English providing listeners with verses in each language.
Ezekiel Miller was born and raised in Olongapo City, Philippines on July 27, 1998. He is a Filipino-American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalists, dancer and a record producer – FFP Records.
