Dave We all alone in this together Review: Poetry from the Child of an Immigrant.
The first time I listened to Dave was when he release Location which features Burn Boy. The song which blew up in Nigeria made everyone at cillacritic want to know who this Rapper was. It turns out that he is not just British but also a Nigerian. And his UK rap music is something everyone can bump to.
Dave or Santan Dave whose full names are David Orobosa Omoregie is a rapper who makes music that most kids who are children of immigrant can relate to. He is a musician who keeps his lyrical content close to the hood. His delivery is void of mumbling with only clear spitting bars and his new sophomore Album is not poor one at all.
THE THEME
The Album is themed around the struggles of Black (Urban) kid who grows up in a system naturally stacked up against him or her. Many a time we find artist who create an album and their major theme message is only featured on four tracks of a 12 album project but in Dave’s: We all alone in this together album, he makes all the songs from the stand point of a urban kid.
The first song I listened to on the album tilted “Both sides of a smile”, Dave raps about how life is always double faced. He does this painting a picture of his love life as an immigrant. Working with James Blake he raps about breaking love and trust with his lover only to understand that one cannot use money to repair love or trust.
Working with J-five in a song which he features Snoh Aalegra they created a contemporary Afrobeats vibe titled “Laws of Attraction”. The song which talks about a love life that could have been. Snoh who takes the hook of the song sings from the perspective of a woman who was disappointed by the way her lover behaved; claiming that he messed up their relationship thus making them a love that could have been. As for Santan he raps from a man who is trying to fix a love he messed up. According to him, he claims that he is not perfect but trying really hard to do right by her.
Working with his fellow UK rapper Stormzy, they created a jam titled “Clash”. Clash is a song which is a typical modern rap song which has it message rooted in bragging rights. Santan and Stormy rap about their assets by declaring that they have these assets more than one.
In an emotional somg that last nine minutes fifty-six seconds, Dave raps about his struggle as a child of an immigrant father and mother. Dave uses this song to reflect on the sufferings and the factors that shaped his life into music. According to him he always dreamed of studing Architecture in the University but ended up become a musician because life was so hard as a kid. He reflects on kids in the hood joining gangs and ending up in jail. And underlines that every freestyle he made was always drawn from the pain he suffered as a child who lacked everything and live with nine persons in a small two bedroom apartment.
What catches my attention is the song is the way he samples his mum crying as a result of his brother’s actions. From his mother’s cry, she shares a story of how she left Nigeria as a teenager-making her way to the UK without any help or shelter. According to her she eventually has to live in a public shelter but never gave up hope because she wanted the best life for herself. But in a lamenting state, she claims that her son wants to kill her because of his actions.
In summary this album is full of stories that will inspire anyone who is going through the pains of life. I will recommend it for kids who need to learn more about beating the struggles of the hood.
