DWMD - Is Jovie Jovv The Top Don Of The Shrap Game?
What if I told you this was Jovie Jovv's first ever official studio album? It feels like he has been around for a long time, but it's really not. Therefore, one could understand the anticipation that was brewing before the release of this project, which was teased as early as two months ago. What makes him absolutely phenomenal as an artist is that he has established himself so well in the urban music scene - this first album seems more a crowning moment, than a rapper trying to break into the mainstream.
DWMD - Don Wa Ma Don - isn't Jovie Jovv's first ever project. He has a string of successful singles, mixtapes and joint albums to his name. However this is the first time he's released an album exclusively under his lone name.
The cover art features Jovie dressed in a pin black but striped suit, seated on a chair, one leg on top of the other and holding a cigar. It is a portrayal of class, opulence, sophistication even. And that photograph works well with the title. The word Don comes from the history of Italian mafia-organized crime families that seemed to put up a front of being honest, upright citizens. Dressing sharply was part of that culture and it is the inspiration Jovie Jovv has gone with.
The intro track is titled DWMD,from which the whole project derives its name. Don Wa Ma Don is sheng (slang) for Don of Dons- perhaps a testament as to how Jovie Jovv views himself in the shrap scene. He views himself as the top dawg and perhaps he wouldn't be wrong ,based on some of his achievements.
In this project, Jovie takes the listener to a world filled with flamboyance, braggadocio and power. He portrays himself as this powerful character/persona who has everything he wants to his satisfaction. From choice women to fashionable drip to lots of money, Jovie has it all. Of course this is a world that shrap and hip-hop fans are all too aware of. The bravado, or the braggadocious nature of the art form, is what flavours hip-hop. Street cred (credibility) is of course measured by how true a rapper's lyrics are- and this may include graphic details of crimes, wealth and ownership of assets - among other things. Of course, we may not be able to independently verify if all the things Jovie Jovv claims in these lyrics are true, but a better approach would be to separate the art from the artist, the person from the poetic persona.
Features - Which Artists Featured And Who Aren't?
Jovie Jovv went big with features on this project. In fact an argument from some fans is that the album has benefited a lot on the strength of these features.He has worked with some of the top hip hop artists on this album such as Timmy Blanco, Silverstone Barz,Bey T, Vallerie Muthoni, Baraka Jacuzzi, Ras Uneek and Tokyo Sauce- just to name a few. The so-called “cool kids” have made a major part of the guest list on this project- and save for Wakadinali, most casual listeners of Kenyan hip-hop may not readily identify the other rappers featured..
However there are names that weren't on this project that were perhaps expected. The usual shrap suspects - Boutross, Kay Green, Dope-I-Mean, Asum Garvey. One cannot help but wonder why they weren't included in the project. Jovie Jovv has worked with them in the past and on numerous occasions. But this pentagon is considered the core of the shrap movement. They have held each other's hands as they pioneered a sound that wasn't easily received at first. This far they have come, even getting a feature from Sho Madjozi earlier this year. A big win for shrap indeed. Fans would therefore naturally expect Jovie Jovv to include this core group in his first ever solo studio album.
There is the other side of the coin however.And that argument would be to keep his sound fresh! Most of the rappers featured here are relatively new in the game - the femcees - Silverstone Barz, Bey T and Vallerie Muthoni have all popped recently. And so maybe he decided to tap into that wave of the newbies.The feature from Wakadinali was also refreshing- a clarion call for rappers to get back in touch with the streets. Turudi Streets is certainly one of the songs that reinforce the title and concept of the album.
Themes and Persona
The album focuses on standard hip-hop themes. Jovie Jovv talks about grinding or "paper chasing" ,hustling to get money and bettering his life in Diego, which features Silverstone Barz and Baraka. He talks about keeping it real on “Turudi Streets” featuring Wakadinali and about relationships with multiple women on the tracks Thot List, and Birdie. “Mbona Unacatch” and “Fika Bei” feat. Steph Kapela explore the theme of awesomeness, if so to put it that way but told from the point of view of a braggadocious persona- someone aware of their greatness and is arrogant about it.
Diego which also has a music video establishes the feel ,mood and themes of the album. The director took close up shots ,but edited them very nicely to give a pattern of having the artists in and out of the spotlight.
The persona presented to us by Jovie embodies boldness, bravado, a materialistic nature and a larger than life character.
We catch glimpses of a vulnerable guy too. On the song “Mbona Unacatch”, one line says- "my way out was music and drugs" - perhaps a testament to a person that has needs beneath the swagger and sense of strength portrayed.
Production/Musical Style.
The production is quite stellar and on point. Jovie Jovv himself is involved in the production process- from making some of the beats to mix-mastering and sampling. On this project it is fair to say he put in his all. The beats are essentially flavoured and their "sweetness" so to say, may not be directly apparent to a lazy ear. Or an inexperienced one. Auto-tune (a contentious subject in hip hop, currently) has been minimally used and only to enhance the hooks.
Overall, the project is highly melodic, with catchy hooks being the foundation on which most of the songs are built on. In standard trap fashion, the bulk of the songs have repetitive words or phrases This creates some sort of memorability for the song and psyches up the listeners.
The writing style, at least on Jovie Jovv's end, was fairly predictable, and regular. Just the kind of stuff, his fans are used to- short punchy lines and an immaculate switch between English and Sheng. He's used a lot of new slang, though it isn’t that new. Shrap used to be the frontier on which to learn new slang, and what's hot in the street. But Gengetone happened-especially Mbogi Genje. So nowadays, shrap-stars are playing second fiddle in that regard. However, the flow is effortless and the music sounds really good.
By all indicators this is a project that has been made over a long time and really cultivated. Jovie Jovv has separated himself from the rest of the shrap. He definitely is diversifying his sound and all those collaborations, show his scope and influence in the industry. It is a project you wouldn't regret listening to.
Stream DWMD here.
