Palmwine Music 2: Show Dem Camp brings more fun and frivolity

Who can blame them? The success of the first installment informed the pair of rappers that, above all else, melody is king. On the first Palmwine Music, Tec and Ghost eased up their wordy verses and sometimes stilted delivery, and, surprise or maybe not, their fans went to the dancefloor. Unbelievers might have joined them too.

On Palmwine Music 2, SDC reproduces several of the features of that older album: added to the less-packed verses and fluid delivery is the presence of a featured artist on every song. There are more singing acts on this album. In fact, SDC's frequent collaborator Poe (credited as Ladipoe) is the only real rapper on the new album and on the song he appears on, there is also a singer. The bid for more radio-play is clear.

Since featuring May D on 'Farabale' back in 2010, the guys have must have known that most hit songs become so on the strength of hooks, but it is a knowledge they have used intermittently. And aren't R&B inclined singers the most hook-blessed group of pop musicians?

Indeed, all of the singers more or less deliver the required melodious hooks, but of the bunch, which includes Nonso Amadi, Falana, and Moelogo, the delightful Flash comes out tops. He pretty much runs away with ‘Tropicana’, the song he's featured on. (Avid Naija pop listeners might recall he was vocalist behind the Sarz hit ‘Get Up’, a song popular for years before its video was released.) Ghana’s Worlasi also delivers on the song ‘Malibu & Palmwine’. For some reason, Burna Boy, with whom Tec and Ghost have wanted to work with since 2013’s ‘Feel Alright’, doesn’t quite bring the heat.

It used to be said that SDC is a conscious rap outfit. The guys themselves were tired of the tag. Not only did it fail to capture the range of topics they have engaged with but it might have affected their popularity. “A lot of producers see us as hardcore hip hop guys and give us beats in that box," they told Music In Africa last year.

But after releasing two projects with an intoxicant in the title and several songs talking sex, leisure and liquor, the duo just might have succeeded in taking off that (strait)jacket. Although just as fun and frivolous as its predecessor, Palmwine 2 isn’t quite as pleasurable as the first one. There are more songs to enjoy on this record but maybe the guys are itching to do something else.

Buy Palmwine Music 2 on iTunes

Artist: Show Dem Camp
Album: Palmwine Music 2
Label, Year: Show Dem Records/Fatherland/Notjustok Distro