Show Dem Camp speaks on ''Palmwine Music 2'', working with Spax and creating 'Legend' with Burna Boy

Their six studio project, ''Palmwine Music 2'' has again laid credence to their consistency, growth and evolution and during a recent visit to the Pulse office, SDC shared the creative process of the project, their journey so far, and how they had to beg BOJ for the instrumentals to 'Legend.'

How long has Show Dem Camp been together?

Ghost: ''We have been rapping together for about 15 years, we started together when we were still very young before we even thought of it as a profession.''

Your take on the state of Hip-Hop in Nigeria this year

Ghost:''This year has really been good, a lot of projects were released this year... Generally, I think 2018 will be remembered as a bit of blast for Hip-Hop, there have been a lot of good projects.''

Tec:''MI put out a great project [], , there is , , too many people doing great stuff and I think it is important for us to put out the music and not just complain.''

On the 'Greatest Nigerian rapper' debate

Tec:''I think it's for the fans to pick and its also based on what you are rating it by. You have people like who was putting out bodies upon bodies of work, even when it wasn't really cool to be doing hip-hop.

You have people like who have put out one of the best Hip-Hop albums in , that album changed the face of Hip-Hop, you have people like who made it cool to be rapping, you have and , so it's hard for me to say who the greatest is because of the different eras.''

If we are talking about currently, you have people like , , so many great guys, it is really hard because a lot of people some view as great may not even be so active of late, so it's for the fans to choose.''

How did Ghost come about the name 'Ghost'?

Ghost: ''It just stuck during University days, usually when I and my friends have an event to attend, most times they don't just see me around and after they have made their way into the venue, I just show up beside them, so they joke around and called me a ghost.''

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Tec:''There was once we travelled for an award show, at the beginning of Show Dem Camp, we didn't know anybody but we heard there was this show holding at Abuja, we flew all the way there and the person that was supposed to get us tickets switched off his phone.

Ghost had missed his flight, so he was coming to meet us there, we were in Abuja already, so even without tickets, we had to find a way to attend.

Me and my guys got to the venue and managed to find our way inside with the help of who recognized us, we were even thinking that Ghost will not be able to make it because of how we smuggled our way inside only to get there and during the event, we met Ghost inside.''

Of all your projects, which is your favourite?

Ghost: ''There are different moments and certain defining songs on each tape, like on , there is 'Once Upon A Time', which I really like, on , there was 'Nothing Long' and'New Kings', those were defining songs for me.

On , the songs with and , we were just going at bars, on , there was growth and we hadn't released a record in a little bit, so a lot of our dark thoughts were on that record, on , it was a release of positive energy which was much needed for me.''

On 'Palmwine Music' and the inspiration behind the switch in sound

Tec: ''We started working with a producer , who is very instrumental to our sound because he is quite versatile, he can make any kind of music. Throughout our careers, even from the UK, we work best with one producer who takes time to define our sound, but in Nigeria, we have been floating around to get that producer, but it has been tough.

'Palmwine Music' is the result of many sessions, trying different ideas and Spax was really that guy that believes in our music and gave us the opportunity to experiment. I feel like we have found a perfect marriage of producer and artist and he is open to trying new things and that is what really helped us get the confidence.''

How was it like creating Palmwine Music 2

Ghost: 'Palmwine Music 1' was a jam session, we were working with our brothers , and Poe, but on this project the aim was to be more refined, not just jam, but step it up a notch, and Tec took a lot more care of the A&R.

With this one, there is a lot more refinement in the sound and getting other artists outside our brothers who we respect their sound to work with us.''

On the project's diverse range of topics

Tec: ''WIth SDC, for us it is always important to put a bit of reality into the music we create. For 'Palmwine Music 1', it was about fun and groove but with this one, we still have the fun and groove but also had songs that had deeper meanings to it like the 'Garden', I am happy we kept the groove light and still throw in a few deep songs.

We have a larger audience now because of 'Palmwine Music 1' and we need to introduce the new fans to what SDC is about.''

How do you pick your collaborations?

Ghost: ''When Spax creates something, it could be Tec drops a verse first or myself or whoever you hear in your mind on the hook, so you send it to the person, it's a synergy.''

To the samples on 'Legend', whose female voice was that?

Ghost: ''The female vocal is that of '

Tec: ''There is a story to that song, we have been working not just on our project but that of other artists and one of the project we are on is that of , we are working on an EP with him and he did a song with Efya.

There was a beat that he started on and Efya had already done the vocals, so the day I was to meet Burna Boy, Spax just gave me a folder of beats and me I didn't even check the beats because I trust Spax to select the one who will suit Burna best and the first two beats I played for Burna, he recorded on both, so we did two records and one of them was 'Legend'.

So it was when I played the record that I realised it was the one that BOJ was meant to do, so I had to beg him to let us have it.''

On 'Malibu & Palmwine', you featured a guy called Worlasi, how did you find him?

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Ghost: ''There is one of our friends who is in Ghana, anytime he hears a new artist he sends their song to us to listen to and Worlasi was one of those artists.''

How much of the creative process on PM2 goes to Spax?

Tec: ''Spax to us is like working with , barely weeks after 'Palmwine Music 1' came out, he already sent us 15 beats for 'Palmwine Music 2', of which only three or four made the eventual project and he had to create new ones based on what he feels would suit us."

Have you been satisfied with reception so far since PM2 was released?

Tec: ''Definitely, when we started working we were thinking how can we top because the reception we got from that was great, but the feedback so far has been amazing.''

Are there videos in the works?

Tec: ''The plan is to shoot like six of the songs, definitely Legend, Tropicana and Damiloun and the response to Ragabomi with have been immense, so we are going to do a video for that too.''

Finally, how rewarding has music been for the Camp?

Ghost: ''You get your reward in different ways, I enjoy doing music and that in itself is rewarding to me and seeing the growth and response from people who appreciate your music, I am always grateful for that.''

Tec: ''Since we released 'Palmwine Music 1', things have changed a lot in terms of our ranking, it has gone up a lot more, so financially, we are in a different space than we were before the release of 'Palmwine music 1', but the reward really is doing what you love.''

You can stream ''Palmwine Music 2''HERE