Why Olamide’s consistency can’t be tampered with if Dagrin still lives
Da Grin made it cool to listen to rap in our indigenous language and undoubtedly paved the way for others and here is why Olamide’s consistency can’t be tampered with if Dagrin still lives
However when it comes to a debate about their legacy, what is presentable is not what could have been but what actually happened.
Origin
For the longest, arguments have raged about the actual greatness of DaGrin, on the one part, DaGrin’s loyalists will tell you he’s the greatest Nigerian rapper ever – or at least, top 5.
These people will also tell you that DaGrin‘s death is the only reason Olamide has a career.
On the other hand, some other people would argue that DaGrin is not even close to being GOAT material.
These people are also likely to argue that Olamide would probably have had a career and thrived even if DaGrin was alive.
They would also cite the co-existence of Wizkid and Davido or Tuface and D’Banj as examples.
The argument has since grown to have numerous moving parts that complicate arguments.
Focus; Why Olamide’s consistency can’t be tampered with if Dagrin still lives
Maybe Da Grin would have dominated the Nigerian music industry with his unique vibe we would never know as his time was cut short.
What we do know is that Olamide took on the responsibility to continue Da Grin’s legacy and pushed it further than imaginable.
With seven albums to his name, he is without a doubt, the greatest Nigerian rapper of all time.
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While discussing ‘greatness’ in music, people tend to erroneously limit the word to being derivative of the word ‘great.’
In normal English language, ‘greatness’ is “the quality of being great; eminence or distinction.” To that end, DaGrin was a ‘great’ artist and he represents greatness.
However, the problem would be when we start elevating DaGrin‘s greatness over some other people’s.
For that reason and in the context of achievement in music, greatness is the summation of achievements in a career over an extended period of time.
To judge this type of ‘greatness,’ you must tick boxes off a solid discography, critical acclaim, commercial success, notoriety, impact, and awards (as an added advantage).
In a pop-obsessed space like Nigeria, rap is best consumed in forms that its major detractors don’t realize is rap.
For that reason, DaGrin impacted the Nigerian soundscape incredibly.
At his height, his biggest song, ‘Pon Pon‘ was a core Hip-Hop track and he excelled at it. He even made English-speaking rappers start contemplating their next moves.
The comparison is a result of the human tendency to position his preference as sine qua non fact and the subtle, understandable pain of core DaGrin fans at seeing Olamide succeed on a throne they feel would have belonged to DaGrin.
But then, Olamide and DaGrin are subtly different – Reminisce is closer to DaGrin than Olamide is.
But for better or worse, Olamide and DaGrin will forever be compared. It’s how the world works.
However, since DaGrin died, Olamide has eclipsed him in every area you might think of – asides from the raw, natural ability to rap.
But even on that raw ability, Olamide‘s ability to the actual bar is almost foolishly underrated by detractors and his fans alike.
Back to the discussion at hand, Olamide ticks all the boxes of a solid discography, critical acclaim, commercial success, notoriety, impact, and awards (as an added advantage).
In fact, in the 2010s, the only reason Olamide was not the artist of the decade is the behemoth called, Wizkid. Olamide has transcended the culture in every way you can imagine
If DaGrin were alive, chances are he could have operated at the level Olamide is. Chances are also that he might not have.
In 2010, Nigeria’s hottest artist was Wande Coal. Fast forward 10 years later, Wizkid who is probably an offspring of his style is far greater than Wande Coal. Thus, nothing is ever set in stone.
Olamide could have eclipsed DaGrin and he could have ended up playing catch-up to DaGrin throughout his career – nobody knows.
There is also a chance that could have both co-existed like Wizkid and Davido and thrived together.
But one thing we shall not deny is that, DaGrin is Olamide‘s forerunner. When DaGrin died, the listener-scape was better prepared to accept a Yoruba-speaking rapper as a superstar than it was when Ajasa was popping.
DaGrin crashed doors open in the soundscape with his endearing ability and technique.
Lord of Ajasa was a momentous occurrence in Nigerian music, but DaGrin took it further than Ajasa ever did.