Today, we are EARMILK have something a bit different for you to chew on. Now, typically, when we come across a dope artist, we may premiere a new video or track. Today, however, we are diverging from the average. Why the change? Well, because this artist is far from average.
Today, we are premiering not one, but two new videos from Nigerian rapper DAP The Contract. Both videos come straight from DAP’s stellar EP, Two Roads, and act as bookends for the project.
Up first, we have the title track, and first song off the album, “Two Roads.”
The self-produced track opens up with DAP sitting in his room while listening to a voicemail granting him admission to an unnamed Law School. Shot entirely in black and white, the mood is very sullen from the get go. As if getting into Law School would be worth celebrating, right? It seems as though DAP has much more on his mind than education, which we see as the video progresses.
From rapping in a field to a street to a neighborhood, DAP is always on the move in the video for “Two Roads,” as if to reinforce the notion that life, and our life choices by extension, are always in motion. Throughout the clip he makes a lot of startling lines, but none speak to his upbringing and mind state like, “Where I'm from the kids don't make it to adultery, and daughters bleed on the fields while playing like AC Milan/ I swear I'm tryna stay calm/ I've made too many fucking songs about the bullshit going on/.” Cuts ya deep, doesn’t it?
As the percussions kick in and the beat picks up, DAP jettisons his past and begins to focus on his future. It’s here that we see a more confident side, as evident with lines like “I told you all I would do it, the only one that knew it! I told you all I'm a killer, I went, and fucking proved it! And if you still ain't tryna sign me, then you must be stupid!”
The next video we have for you is the final track of the project, “Forever Yours.”
Speaking of the two videos and how they relate to each other, DAP explained, "They both represent the beginning and end of the journey not only musically but in terms of the realization that the many paths we all take throughout our lives are ultimately all part of one journey. Two Roads become one in Forever Yours, and the juxtaposition of the videos represents the reconciling of that separation."
Unlike the first, “Forever Yours” takes a different, less turbulent path. For starters, the song is sonically much different from the title track. Whereas “Two Roads” is primarily rap, DAP is singing on the majority of “Forever Yours.” Starting in full color, you can hear DAP speaking in the background saying “There’s no place like home” before the color changes to black and white, and the song begins.
Visually, the video shows off much more of his surroundings than “Two Roads.” We find DAP on a tropical beach, walking and rapping in an abandoned house. It seems as though he was torn between his home and education (DAP graduated from Brown University in 2016) but on “Forever Yours” he realizes that home is the only place for him.
Similar to “Two Roads” though, DAP still drops some fire lines. Even though he’s singing them instead of rapping, he still does his thing with lines like “But when I go for good you know what my will is/ I go hard, die hard, Bruce Willis/.”
At the end of verse one, we see DAP floating in the ocean with the music slowing and then changes the tempo completely for verse two. From demeanor to delivery DAP is reborn with more braggadocio and swagger on this next verse. It’s also the first time we see him rapping in front of other people. As he brings the video to a close, you can see his confidence bleed through, knowing where his future lies.
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DAP has a handful of projects out at the moment, but he's far from an accomplished artist. Two Roads isn’t his 3rd major record label album, and he doesn’t have millions of streams on Spotify or SoundCloud. And yet, he sets up these videos with a cohesiveness that you'll find in much more experienced artists. It’s for this reason that DAP is somebody to watch. Most young artists do not attack their early projects with such dexterity and precision, but as stated at the beginning, DAP is not most artists.
Press play on “Two Roads” and “Forever Yours” above and be sure keep it locked, right here, on EARMILK for all things DAP The Contract. Oh, and wish the guy a happy birthday when you get the chance. Double video release, not a bad way to celebrate, eh?
Connect with DAP The Contract: SoundCloud | Instagram | Twitter
