Deemoe Delivers A Narrative Spectacle on “BLOOD, SWEAT, TEARS & CHAMPAGNE”

The genre of hip-hop has always carried the intensity of personal messages. Attuned to lyrical precision as no other, its savants have been storytellers as much as they’re musicians. On BLOOD, SWEAT, TEARS & CHAMPAGNE, the UK-based Nigerian rapper Gaiya Moses Obedience, mostly known as Deemoe, delivers a striking ode to the tests that have shaped him. Given the ‘champagne’ part of the title, it’s inevitable he also charts triumph, coasting on the rivers of success which gives the project an incredibly whole feeling. 

Early into the project, narrative cohesion is established through a spoken word piece delivered by Avis. From there on, he uncovers an array of subjects and flows. “KNOW ABOUT” sounds like Miami on any given weekend, with soft bouncy drums and melancholic notes charging Deemoe’s strained vocals. “What you know ‘bout pain?” he asks on the hook, which goes on both sides of the lone verse like a soothing cast over the athlete’s broken calf. 

A smooth groove follows immediately on TEXAS, a song which reveals Deemoe’s ease with the cheekiest of pockets. Never mind the title, here there’s a bounce that’s recognizably ours in tone, and even his lyrics affirm the cultural alliance. “If I give her one she go like this,” he sings in the hook, just some bars away from calling himself Nigerian boy. 

Every song from then on confirms what’s clear by now: Deemoe is a competent rapper, like every competent rapper before him, there’s a pulse of life present in every swing. Each bar doesn’t just impress on the level of word choice and presentation, but also the weight behind these qualities. SIN CITY, ostensibly a lyrical core of the album, dazzles with grim snapshots exchanged between Deemoe and his guest, Huey Magicman. 

An atmospheric tape, the beats here are mostly somber and lightly drawn. Against Deemoe’s heavy themes, the music builds around with an intense mirroring of the motions. I’m saying this is a well-produced album. Still always impressive is the honest voice of Deemoe, dispensing stories and inadvertently drawing lessons from them, as on SUMMER 25 and UNCIVILIZED. 

SUMMER 25 explores life and love, relationships and everything in between. “Some said I fell off, some said I was never up / some say it was hard work, some say it only luck,” he raps in view of the naysayers, finally establishing that it’s his own perspective of himself and his journey that matters. 

It’s not an altogether different proposition in the latter record, except it’s a darker density around the dominant image. Around the seams, you get the tension of an interesting character boxing to make it out of the depths, boxing with several elements that undergird his destiny. “Trust me, ain’t living right,” he offers in one line, with only a wink for suggestion. 

With all available evidence, it’s prime to say this ranks high among the rap projects released in the UK and Nigeria this year. Although its soundscape regrettably doesn’t reflect enough local influences save for a few mentions, it’s impressive what Deemoe achieves with the primary tools of words and cadence. But perhaps that’s not all too surprising; he grew up in Kaduna after all, a rap-centric city that produced important MCs like eLDee and Terry tha Rapman. 

Given the strength of BLOOD, SWEAT, TEARS & CHAMPAGNE, he’s paid wonderful tribute to that tradition he’s emerging from. But he goes even further in scope, also a participant in the lore of the place he now calls home. Fine work.