To most listeners, Vontrap started with PeerPressureMCs, the hip-hop group that he co-founded with Yusuf “Fist” Dawaki. Since their debut with the Wilson 99 EP in 2017, the duo have consistently developed a catalogue based on intelligent lyrics, modern African sounds and messages that go beyond entertainment. No trend has been followed in their releases but rather patience, deliberate nature and a desire to tell meaningful stories.
Check Vontrap’s Catalogue on Spotify
This philosophy was even more evident as the duo came back with Something To Hold On To in 2022. The project was a visible evolution of the art, with a more sophisticated sound, but keeping the same authenticity that its initial followers enjoyed. It also prefigured later releases such as Fence, Game On, and the Bloom EP, which show a growing confidence in songwriting, production decisions and direction of collaboration.
However, as PeerPressureMCs were still growing as a group, another narrative was slowly emerging. Vontrap was no longer a half of a respected duo. Through collaborations and his own releases he slowly built up a creative identity that listeners could identify with outside of the PeerPressureMCs brand. His performances were more confident, his lyrical performance more intimate, and his songwriting was more contemplative of an artist who was comfortable exploring the themes of faith, perseverance, relationships and purpose without losing technical accuracy.
The most interesting aspect of this evolution is that Vontrap never tried to dissociate himself with the group that brought him to the people. Rather, he has viewed PeerPressureMCs as the artistic basis on which his own artistic identity might develop. What follows is a career in which there is a balance between collaboration and individuality- something that most artists cannot achieve.
His collaborative portfolio further reinforces this development. Collaborating with such artists as Vblaiz, MonLee, Manasseh, and Menxee, Vontrap has always proved that he could change his style of writing and performance without losing his artistic integrity. In his work on collaborative projects or in his own releases, his poems are still recognisably his, measured, deliberate and full of emotion.
The figures also indicate that this consistent strategy is starting to reverberate outside Nigeria. In 2023, Spotify Wrapped data that was shared by PeerpressureMCs indicated that listeners were in 59 countries. By 2024, they had an international presence in 74 countries, which is an indication of increased global interest in their catalogue. Although streaming statistics are not the sole measure of artistic excellence, they do show that Vontrap is gaining more and more listeners far beyond his native market.
Check Vontrap’s Catalogue on Spotify
The most notable thing about Vontrap career is perhaps the fact that it has been constructed without having to depend on the viral internet hype. His development has rather been through consistency, releasing music over multiple years, cultivating collaborations, perfecting his art, and letting each project serve a larger artistic story.
Such a long-term view is becoming more and more uncommon in the modern world of music. At a time when most professions are quantified by the seconds spent on social media, Vontrap is a breath of fresh air: an artist who is interested in creating a catalogue and not in pursuing algorithms.
With 2024 nearing its end, it becomes clear that PeerPressureMCs will continue to be a significant part of his artistic career. It is also quite obvious, though, that Vontrap has become a creative voice that can stand on its own. Instead of living in the shadow of the collective, he has become one of its strengths, an artist whose personal identity is constantly expanding but who still has his roots in the spirit of collaboration that influenced his career.
To the audience of the independent hip-hop movement in Nigeria, such a development can possibly turn out to be the greatest accomplishment of Vontrap.
Get more on Vontrap via https://vontrapmusic.com/
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The post PeerPressureMCs and Beyond: How Vontrap Has Evolved Into a Distinct Creative Voice appeared first on NotjustOk.
To most listeners, Vontrap started with PeerPressureMCs, the hip-hop group that he co-founded with Yusuf “Fist” Dawaki. Since their debut with the Wilson 99 EP in 2017, the duo have consistently developed a catalogue based on intelligent lyrics, modern African sounds and messages that go beyond entertainment. No trend has been followed in their releases
The post PeerPressureMCs and Beyond: How Vontrap Has Evolved Into a Distinct Creative Voice appeared first on NotjustOk. Read More