Reverencing Show Dem Camp – The Best Duo Since Don Jazzy & D’banj

“Not P-Square but we’re like brothers in this movie…she said Tec and Ghost come I don’t understand

The best duo since Don Jazzy and D’banj, to walk your own path was that part of the plan? To fly your own plane and just see where you land

I said yes omo I think that’s what defines us, build on our own, and the spotlight will find us”

These lines by Tec, on “Flex on You” off SDC’s 2019 album release “The Palmwine Express”, speaks volumes about the dynamic duo. It not only sums up the trajectory of their career path, but also acknowledges two iconic duos of the Nigerian music industry that besides them, no other but SDC can claim the title of best duo.

At this stage in the careers of Ghost and Tec, the rap duo known as Show Dem Camp (SDC), there is no need for introductions; however, a short trip down memory lane will be an eye opener for those who just hopped on the train.

Their journey began after meeting each other in the UK, and then teamed up to go through a transitional phase on a pathway that led them from hardcore hip-hop rap to their current “Camp” sound.

SDC decided to come on the Nigerian music scene at a point when Nigerian hip-hop acts were gaining a wider audience, and amassing large followership. They hit the ground running in 2010 by starting out as independent acts, and released the first of their “Clone Wars” mix tapes.

A good listen to “Clone Wars Vol. 1” shows that they have always had depth in their style of delivery and storytelling; “Memoirs” and “Victoria Island of Broken Dreams” are notable tracks among others that showed a glimpse of their conscious music.

After testing the waters with an underground project in 2010, SDC released their debut album “The Dreamer Project” in 2011. The album had a lineup of features with top artistes, Nneka, 2face, M.I, Sound Sultan, May-D, Lynxxx, Eva, and other talented artistes. It would have been expected that their exceptional art coupled with such amazing features on the album should translate to huge mainstream success. It did put their name out in mainstream circles but the album didn’t get to a widespread audience.

SDC’s reputation of staying true to their craft became noticeable from their next move. Instead of switching up to go after mainstream hits by jumping on whatever sound or style was trending like many other artistes in the industry do, they released “The Clone Wars Vol. 2: The Subsidy” in 2012.

Lyrics on the first track, “O.D”, revealed their state of mind when Ghost said: “Keep learning, keep earning, keep yearning” and he went on to talk about their last project:

“On the real the dreamer project was one of the best hip-hop albums the gidi’s ever seen shaa, but what’s the point of having classic material

if people can barely find it in the street, regardless by any means imma eat bruh, still chasing the dreams so I don’t sleep much”  

At this point in their journey, the duo would have experienced different ups and downs as indie artistes in the Nigerian music industry; however, as a testament to their resilience and determination to walk their own path, they honed their craft and the sounds they worked with evolved.

In 2013, SDC released the hit single “Feel Alright” that served as a turning point. They introduced everyone to the evolved sound they were working on, and it went on to pull a growing fan base from mainstream music lovers.

SDC featured the talented rapper Poe who is a very familiar face they’ve consistently worked with, and one of the top artistes from the alternative music scene, BOJ. This widely accepted hit single had a unique fusion of sounds which was a prelude to what was to come four years later.

Early 2017 gave hardcore fans a treat as SDC dropped “Clone Wars 3 – The Recession”. On “How Far” Ghost’s lyrics hinted that they had heard critiques of their rap cred, “streets been talking and I heard that the camp sold out and we are commercial” an obvious reference to their 2013 hit single. Regardless, they just did their thing and their impeccable lyricism was put on full display to remind all that their rap game was still tight.

The project further established their position as top class creatives of conscious music that speaks to body, mind, and soul, with tracks like “Rise of the Underdogs”, “Move Mountains”, and most notably “Live, Love, Laugh, Eat” on which they addressed issues of life and their perspective on the essence of human existence.    

Surprisingly, the rap duo released another EP by mid-2017, and it put down a distinctive marker highlighting their diversity. SDC had been brewing good music for the fans who they had won over with their 2013 hit single, and it was now time for them to drink up.

Tapping into African musical roots provided SDC with the sounds to go to a higher level, and “Palmwine Music” was the product they offered to listeners in 2017. It had a rich blend of sounds which included an old music genre known as palm-wine music, traditional Yoruba drums/percussion, vibrant horns, and high life instrumentals that gave it a fresh flavor.

SDC carved a new niche with this project that pushed them out of the traditional hip-hop rap comfort zone. Noticeably, they did away with their hardcore rap bars and lyricism for silky smooth lines. Artistes who could vibe with this sound were featured, and unsurprisingly were mainly from the alternative music scene; BOJ, Ajebutter22, Tomi Thomas, Odunsi The Engine, Poe, and Funbi all featured on the EP.

It became evident that this was a very brilliant balancing act by the duo; use the clone wars series to express themselves and be free with their rap art, as well as cater to their hardcore fan base, then keep the teeming mainstream fans and alternative tribe in the loop with palmwine music. 

To keep up the flow of fresh palmwine music for the fans, and show that they were not going to rest on the success of the previous year, SDC released “Palmwine Music 2” in 2018.

If their consistency over the years hadn’t put them on veteran level in the eyes of some critiques, then the release of “Clone Wars Vol. IV: These Buhari Times” did just that. In a time when rap and music as a whole in Nigeria lacked substance, SDC put out a project with purely conscious music.

Wordsmiths on a mission with lyrical guns blazing red hot is the best description of their approach on the project. Both rappers and the featured rap artistes fired off lines on issues affecting Nigeria across all spheres of life.

Most tracks were heavily laced with commentary on the political, economic, and social reality of Nigeria. Lyrics from “Epigenetics” featuring the talented Ozone, sums up some of the messages on the project, especially in Tec and Ozone’s line about Nigeria’s sad truth:

“Whole country got post-traumatic stress, Africa’s giant, man say it with your chest…

Make dem throw the whole country away now so we can hit reset on the way down” – Tec

“Somehow we gotta make it legal illegal or both…all these years no light, don’t see a beacon of hope, pitch black, got to the end of the tunnel and it was pitch black” – Ozone

2019 saw a repeat of 2017 with another addition to the palmwine music series right after a clone wars release. At this point these OG’s have nothing to prove about their rap prowess, and as usual the mood that “The Palmwine Express” evokes is a vibe for the listeners to relax and chill to.   

After over ten years of consistency as indie rap artistes in a Nigerian music industry with characteristics of the Wild Wild West, Show Dem Camp deserves to be given their accolades. Also, their ability to remain uncompromising with the quality of their art, and rather be innovative with their craft in order to achieve mainstream success is worthy of widespread emulation.

So if you’re not yet rocking with the SDC, get onboard, and get in with the Show Dem Camp tribe as it eagerly awaits the next clone wars release.