Show Dem Camp & The Joy of Succeeding in Front of Family and Along With Your Tribe
“Don’t just be an artist. Be a community” — Yoh Phillips
(Most) Nigerian parents are apprehensive of non-traditional career choices. Ideally, after about twenty cumulative years of schooling and one or more degrees, the expected move is to get a steady, well-paying job. (It also helps if the job is explainable and “professional,” because they’d like to brag and simplicity helps.) Coming from a place of love and care, deviation from this slightly antiquated path causes worry and weariness, with comments ranging from “I hope you know what you’re doing?” to “stop wasting your life!”
A good way to fully ease this worry (if that’s even possible) is to show — not just tell — them that you’re doing really fine. It’s a strategy Show Dem Camp’s Tec employed back in December 2017. Deep into their headlining set at the rap duo’s inaugural Palmwine Festival, Tec announced that his mother was in the crowd, and it was her first time seeing him perform live. There was unbridled happiness written all over the rapper’s face in that moment, a look that personified the popular saying, “Mama, I made it.”
To put that moment in proper perspective, Tec and his rap partner Ghost had been rhyming together for over ten years prior, while their debut album, The Dreamer Project, was released six years before, in 2011. When TDP dropped it was met with critical acclaim, but it didn’t make the type of commercial dent that was needed to catapult SDC into widespread popularity. By 2017, though, the rap duo became a bigger deal, following the success of their 7-track project, ‘Palmwine Music’. The first edition of the now annual Palmwine Fest quickly followed, attracting over two thousand adulating fans. As Tec was gushing on stage, you could see his mum’s face beaming with pride, and it was easy to understand why.
Last Saturday, Ghost walked into Lagos’ Muri Okunlola Park just before the third edition of Palmwine Fest kicked off, and with him were two elderly people — a man and a woman — dressed in beautiful traditional outfits better suited to an Owambe gathering than a live urban music show. I can’t confirm if these were the rapper’s parents, but from what I overheard a few metres away, he spoke to them with a genuine warmth and respect that can only be accorded to family.
Witnessing this moment reminded me of “Once Upon A Time,” a standout selection off TDP, where SDC gave listeners a full glare into their burning desire to be acclaimed wordsmiths, an ambition they’d been harbouring “since 1999”. On the riveting first verse, Ghost raps about the initial pushback from his mother and other family members, after informing them of his decision to chase a rap dream. “Wish me luck, ma, I’m going for mine,” he ends his verse, strengthening his resolve and seeking his mother’s blessing despite her reluctance. With SDC’s current wave of success, Ghost’s conviction is rewarded and there’s no doubt in my mind that his mum is proud of her son’s chosen path.
In all of this, it feels relevant to note that SDC weren’t trying to be here for a long time. In the closing moments of “Once Upon A Time,” Ghost loudly toys around with the idea of dipping after releasing one or two more albums, because rapping after age 35 wasn’t the motive. Thankfully, they stuck around to earn their title as Africa’s premier rap duo. After four years without a project, they returned on the last day of 2016 with the lyrically dense Clone Wars, Vol. 3: The Recession — a strong contender for Nigerian rap project of the decade — before pivoting into the colourful, groove-dependent sound of Palmwine Music, a few months later.
This sonic partitioning and reinvention has added a refreshing dynamism to SDC’s arsenal, as they’ve retained their respect as razor sharp lyricists with the Clone Wars series, while the Palmwine series finds them in their commercially viable bag. A foundational element of this wholesome narrative is SDC’s openness to collaborations. Working with a host of other artists is not a foreign concept to the rap duo — their 18-track debut album had fourteen guest spots — but in recent times, they’ve used it as an opportunity to build their tribe.
Of all the songs on the three instalments of the Palmwine series so far, only Palmwine Express’ “Alariwo” does not spot a guest act. With the bulk of guest vocals coming from singers, these features are primarily in service of the standard verse-hook-verse song structure. However, instead of these collaborations coming across as one-sided and exploitive, SDC go the extra mile by adopting these artists as part of their community. It’s a case of team work making the dream work; recruiting the right talent to achieve a vision, and in the process creating a family tree. Nowhere is this more evident than during the Palmwine Festivals, and they continued the tradition at this year’s edition.
Usually scripted, SDC’s headlining set rarely sees them on stage alone, as they take turns performing alongside featured artists on their projects, and ceding the spotlight for their guests to thrill concert attendees. In the Nigerian music ecosystem where performance on new stages is key to finding new fans, Palmwine Fest has become an extended platform beyond the music for SDC to shed their light on talented, rising artists.
Even though last Saturday’s festivities featured solid sets from Vector, Ycee and a surprise appearance from afropop hitmaker Reekado Banks, the ethos of rocking out with the Camp and their tribe was what generated the most fanfare on the night. There was a fluidity in passing the baton, resulting in far more highlights than dull moments. Here’s a prime example: After bringing Wani on stage to perform “In Case,” SDC retreated to the background, as the singer segued into his latest single, “No Love,” alongside Palmwine Fest regular, prettyboydo — the song’s collaborator. D-O eventually took over, stomping around as he performed his knockout jam, “Dem Go Hear Wehh,” before inviting MOJO for their rumbling and infectious banger, “Chop Life Crew.” Within ten minutes or less, four songs were performed by four different artists, and the crowd participation barely ever waned.
One of the night’s most memorable moment was watching Tems perform her hit single, “Try Me,” which served as reminder how much bigger the singer had become in just over a year since her coming out party. In addition to rising popularity of her debut single, “Mr Rebel,” the singer’s break out was catalysed by her feature on camp affiliate Ladipoe’s debut album, Talk About Poe, as well as multiple spots on the SDC-pioneered, multi-artist compilation, Collectiv3: Live. Create. Repeat. Her extensive work with SDC ever since — two features each on CW4: These Buhari Times and Palmwine Express — is a marker of the faith Tec and Ghost place in Tem’s talent, and they continued to ride for her, performing the role of hypemen as they whipped up the crowd to match every impassioned word of “Try Me” that fell out of Tems’ mouth.
However, the most commanding moment of the night, and perhaps the one that best portrays SDC as a community, was when they joined on stage by Ajebutter22 and BOJ. Butter came on for “Independent Ladies,” prancing around with his trademark, effervescent attitude. BOJ joined in shortly after, as they both performed a medley of songs from both instalments of their joint EP, Make E No Cause Fight (I & II). At this point, over one-third of the crowd had disappeared, but everyone that remained recited each hook and hollered with every song transition. Throughout this part of the set, Tec and Ghost performed backup duties, clearly pleased that two artists other than themselves were shutting down the Palmwine Fest stage.
After the performance of Palwine Music II’s “Damiloun,” Ajebutter22 exited the stage, while BOJ remained, and the fuzzy baritone singer continued strutting around confidently. Considering how deep he’s rolled with SDC over the years — he delivered the classic hook on SDC’s 2013 classic hit, “Feel Alright,” and he’s the only artist to be featured on all three Palmwine projects — his appearance felt like a much needed victory lap.
Somewhere in his cameo, BOJ announced that his Father was in the audience. As his father obliged his introduction with a wave, BOJ launched into a call-and-response rendition of the hook of his seminal hit, “BOTM (BOJ On The Microphone).” Whether that was the first time seeing his son on stage or not, there was a wide smile on the face of Mr. Dapo, as hundreds of voices screamed “Bolaji omo Dapo re (this is Bolaji, the son of Dapo)” in unison. It was a heartfelt moment, and it encapsulated the endearing, communal magic that has become the trademark of SDC’s Palmwine Fest stage, and by extension, their recent endeavours.
By Dennis for UrbanCentral, [Tweets @dennisadepeter]
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