To understand a people, one must understand the stories they tell about themselves and the world they live in. These vivid tales of those who came before us are a vessel through which we can understand something of their character. The mythology of our forefathers reveal their explanations for events found in nature, while establishing which virtues were to be aspired towards and which vices were to be admonished. As the medium of our storytelling evolved beyond the oral, we also saw these principles evident in classic Nollywood, where good and evil were in constant Manichean conflict, embodied through archetypes from the wicked stepmother to the faithful preacher. Through these stories we develop an understanding of our heritage, meaning that we are not only rooted in a better grounding of who we are and where we come from, but a sense of clarity about where we are going.
As storytellers of our times, wielding the power of sound and rhymes, Show Dem Camp use their latest project Afrikan Magic to exposite the story of African creativity, resilience and beauty paying homage to those who have paved the way for them. As stalwarts and trailblazers of the scene we have today, the duo look back on the lineage that they too are part of while extending this grand narrative. Fans of SDC are familiar with the worldbuilding that is carefully crafted around each of their projects, from the tongue in cheek levity of Palmwine Music, to the incisive social commentary of Clone Wars. Afrikan Magic offers a new portal of exploration through which new connections are forged across the continent and diaspora, with features from the likes of Mereba, Moonchild Sanelly and LULU and established relationships are strengthened, with features from the likes of Tems and Boj. An aptly cinematic soundscape provides the canvas for Tec and Ghost to remind us of why the duo have left an indelible mark on the Nigerian music landscape, encouraging listeners to become attuned to the manifestations of Afrikan Magic that are all around us. We sat with the pair to discuss their journey and this latest offering.
In the opening track Libations, you pay homage to artists in the pantheon of Nigerian music from Onyeabor to Olaiya to 2face. Where do you see yourself in that lineage sonically and spiritually?
Tec: Just before I moved to Nigeria I had a friend who introduced me to 2Face and Sound Sultan and those types of people. I was in Brighton at the time and that was what made me realise that there were people making amazing music in Nigeria right now. Growing up we were always listening to hip hop, that was our main thing, it wasn’t cool to listen to Nigerian music. There were some artists like Junior and Pretty and Blackky but we didn’t take it as seriously. I’d heard Fela being played by my uncles but hadn’t connected as deeply with it. Going back to Nigeria connected me with young people trying to build an industry, it filled me with enthusiasm. It felt like everything was new and fresh.From there I started doing a deep dive into what came before like William Onyeabor – we did a remix to one of his songs, ‘Smooth and Good’ and I worked on a Noisey documentary he was doing at the time. There was a platform in Nigeria at the time called Afropolitan Vibes which was a monthly concert that blended old artists with new artists so we got to share the stage with legends like Jimi Solanke. Doing research you realise the labels have been in Nigeria in the 60s, 70s, 80s and we’re not the first to be on this journey. It was powerful to discover that we do come from a long lineage of not just Nigerian music but African Music. We’re just trying to add our own name to that tapestry and send the elevator back for the next generation.
Spiritually – music for us wanted to reflect our day to day life. There are so many things which we have manifested through our words, a sign of how powerful music is, so we’re careful with what we put out there.
How do you bridge the connection between generations who may not be aware of this lineage which includes milestones like Sunny Ade getting a Grammy nomination in the 80’s?
Ghost: Documenting things is very important and sharing things with the world so it doesn’t get lost. For us building a community – Show Dem shows itself through action – it’s more than words. The brotherhoods and relationships that we have developed is a testament to bridging the gap.
Tec: To add to that. Looking at how the music industry operates. Most of the music in the world originated in Africa but it’s been commercialized and shifted into many forms. Music is about people coming together to create something, and that part of it is sometimes lost. I feel that, like if it’s about music, human spirit and human connections are equally as important. So our approach to other artists, our approach to connections, are very important. There’s also a deeper form of alignment in something you said. Sunny Ade has a song called Rod Publicity and Rod Publicity is the first PR company in Nigeria that my dad and two of his friends used to run. So he used to work with and manage Sunny Ade back in the day. He even references them in that song, Rod Publicity, which is something I mentioned in the track libations, because there’s a direct thread. Even before our time there’s people in our lineage who’ve been working on this.
Heritage is clearly important to you as artists. Your songs sporadically reference Yoruba mythology, why is it important for you to make references to these stories despite stigma?
Ghost: Because this is our mythology What’s the line you said, skin colour separates Thor from Sango
Tec: It’s Packaging. Without taking a stance but why is African spirituality so demonised? Every culture has their own form of religion and spirituality but when you mention ours everyone is scared to even understand it. If you don’t understand our spirituality, not even practice it, it’s hard to have a spiritual grounding. I don’t believe it’s bad, it’s a perspective and lens through which people looked at the world so why is our lens demonised? It’s posing that question and talking about it.
Tell me about the album name, Afrikan Magic
Tec: It’s a play on the popular TV station Africa Magic, which is paying homage to Nollywood. I champion everything African, even our Palmwine movement was taking our own thing and making it cool. Nollywood for me is a bunch of people who decided to create an industry where there was no industry and made it global. People may question the quality or whatever, but in reality it’s a bunch of young people who took cameras, started acting and became household names. It’s celebrating that and on a deeper level it’s the innate magic we possess as Africans which Nollywood is a part of because we are able to create nothing out of something time after time. People who didn’t see a pathway but willed a pathway by pure talent and skill. We keep producing without the same infrastructure, that is a form of Magic people don’t recognise.
Ghost: It’s also a new series we are developing in the same way we have Clone Wars and Palmwine Music.
Your albums have a strong thematic thread which runs through them which is reminiscent of film. Do you see any connections between music and cinema?
Tec: We grew up in an era of themed albums from All Eyez on Me to Doggy Style. A lot of those albums had a throughline and that’s the way we view making a project. When you see Palmwine Music people remember the skits like the songs so it’s about creating those touchpoints visually and sonically. With film it’s also storytelling but being able to add more detail than maybe in 16 bars, it’s just another outlet.
Ghost: Our learning process came from conceptual projects that came with lots of thought. We did a project with Kid Konnect called Small Chops and even that had a narrative. With everything we do we try to have a message whether it’s playful or socially conscious.
SDC’s art is rooted in Lagos while also capturing the spirit and imaginations of the diaspora. As people who’ve lived in the diaspora before settling in Nigeria, how have these travels influenced you?
Ghost:When we first came it was difficult to be accepted into the scene but later on it helped us carve a niche for ourselves in terms of people who connected to our music and probably have a similar experience to us being Nigerian but with a global perspective. Wherever we go, we have common ground with people
Tec: Sonics is another thing. Being in the UK when garage, So Solid Crew, Kano and all of these guys were popping, it showed how music has been a voice for black communities. What I realised more than anything was how I can reference where I’m from to give a glimpse of my home in the same way we recognise Bed Stuy and Compton. We have to rep where we’re from. That’s what colonialism has done to us, a lot of people go out and want to speak like Americans or other cultures when we can claim and be proud of our own and immortalise it.
In your track, Kele you have a bar which says, ‘when you bet on yourself it’s like an act of faith’. How have you bet on yourselves on this journey and what acts of faith has it required?
Ghost: It was tough. You have to believe in yourself and ride the waves. Something I say to myself is we went Dutch on a vision, we both believed that we were going on the journey and we had to succeed. Everything about our journey is all in our music and it’s blessed to see the things we manifested come to pass at this stage in our lives and we can do something we genuinely love to do and give back to society in our own way.
Tec: Faith is things unseen right? You have a vision and direction born out of passion and you decide that you want to boldly go in that direction without knowing so much. If you look at the likes of 2Face speaking about Grammy’s which seemed impossible but down the line you see Tems and Burna winning, so for us it’s a collective dream. It took so many people chipping at the wall for us to walk through to where we are so it’s important for us to do the same for the next batch of people to walk through. If 2Face, DBanj and PSquare all moved it here, we need to move it for the next group of people. African music is here to stay and we have to create the pathway and leave the door to open.
Ghost: The next frontier in African music is the infrastructure of the industry. That’s what we have to leave behind for the next generation.
At what moment did you feel like your risk paid off
Tec: For me it was December 2017. Earlier that year we had put out Palmwine Music Vol I, we were connected with Sparkz who subsequently produced all our Palmwine Musics. He had said to us, we had a song Feel Alright which was released in 2013 and he said this was the era of SDC he wanted to tap into. Later that year we did our first Palmwine Music festival in Lagos, our estimate was 500 people showing up but 2500 ended up coming. It was the first time my mum had seen a show we had done and she was baffled seeing people singing our songs. That was the first time I was moved to cry as I was overwhelmed by the number of people who came out for us. It blows my mind to see where the music is going. That’s why it took us a while to go to London for that reason. We started just before it hit the digital era. For me it’s gratitude.
Ghost: Something similar. We built that brick by brick. In 2017 we were doing shows in underground venues and our Clone Wars tapes had been getting buzz. But that show was definitely a game changer in terms of belief and gratitude that stars are really aligning.
There is a Tems feature on this new project and you have a history of platforming superstars before they reach mainstream, from Amaarae to Odunsi. What makes you willing to collaborate and what are the things that draw you to collaborators?
Ghost: We are usually fans of the people we work with, which is why we want to work with them. I’d say we both have good tastes and similar tastes in music which helps. When collaborating it works both ways, we may have a platform but it’s an exchange. When we started we were working with the likes of 2Face and them. Making music is key in grounding you and making sure the love of the music is pure. If it was just us rapping we would have probably stopped rapping years ago.
Tec: To echo that, it’s being fans of the music. Fans of human beings, wanting to collaborate with other human beings. At this stage, it almost feels we’ve put a bat signal into the sky for anyone who is doing anything against the grain. We really enjoy the collaborative process. Last year we did an album with Cavemen and my favourite part of that album was the creation, I’ll be honest I didn’t enjoy the promotional element of it but in terms of the creation it was great, Tems would pass through, Moelogo would pass through and that environment of creation is something I want to champion. I’m building a studio in Lagos and my main thing beyond money is how is it going to be a collaborative space so that feeling we get when we’re making stuff we can have it all the time and the younger artists coming up can have it as well. It’s always been important and integral to what we do.
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