Santan Dave - The Voice Of A Generation

The mark of greatness, true greatness in art and expressionism can have a lot to do with one’s ability to be versatile. To stretch themselves across different environments and traverse through different fields constantly evolving their craft over time.

In music, it’s no different. All the truly legendary artists throughout history have created something - whether it’s a new style, sound or the way we think about things - which outlasts them and stamps themselves in history forever.

UK rap has been privileged with its wide cacophony of musicians who have made their mark on time and blessed our ears with their creativity. Whether it’s grime, drill, conscious rap, chill rap, road rap or trap, there’s been no shortage of talented rappers the country has produced across the last two decades.

A lot of these artists found their calling early and more or less stuck to it. There’s nothing wrong with that - if you know what you’re truly great at - why pivot from it?

And then there’s Dave. And if you want to talk about Dave and his music, where do you start? Where do you box him in?

Because, yes he was once that incredibly hungry 16 year old who took everyone’s breath away with his relentless blackbox freestyle in 2015. He’s the guy that had Drake on a remix to his song whilst still a teenager. Yes, he’s done songs in other languages, he’s played his hand in afrobeats, drill and a lot of other genres and he’s been extremely successful in doing so. But many great artists have done so - Skepta wove his way through grime - became a legend and then took his talents to techno-house.

Jhus can’t really be constricted to one sound and neither can Stormzy or Little Simz.

What separates Dave from these artists though, and what puts him into a threshold which transcends UK rap altogether and makes him one of the greatest British artists of the 21st century is the consistency in which he’s been able to navigate those hit club songs, the ones you ride around ur in your car nodding your head to - and then the other side of it. The vulnerable, heart on the sleeve, gut-wrenching ballads that each of his albums seem to have at least one of.

How many artists can say they’ve got a verse like Dave’s on 'Peligro' and have also made a track like a 'Lesley' or a 'Drama'. Santan Dave’s ability to strip away any hint of wanting to create a hit and really just pour his soul out onto a song through imaginative storytelling, and devastating personal experiences puts him into a league of his own in the UK rap scene.

Dave's 2020 BRIT performance where he called out a 'racist' Prime Minister Boris Johnson

If you went through his catalogue, you’d find ten 6 plus minute songs where Dave is his own harshest critic, registering and reflecting on his flaws for the world to hear. That takes a level of bravery and self-acknowledgement which most artists are scared to do or just can’t. You can talk about his wordplay, double and triple entendres and punchy one-liners until the cows come home. But those longer tracks are what makes Dave Dave.

The ability that he has to make his stories so relatable to the point where you question if you’ve ever had an original experience is staggering. On 'How I met my Ex', Dave paints the picture of one of his previous relationships and how it ultimately met it’s demise in such a detailed and heartfelt way. At nineteen he’s talking about all the intricacies of relationships, jealousy and ambition as if he’s lived three lifetimes. All there is is a soft piano in the background and his lyrics. But the feeling you get when you listen - that relatability, as though your life is being opened up by someone who’s never met you… it’s eerie but its also comforting.

Then you have Dave’s birthday series. Starting from 'My 19th birthday' on album Game Over' . He traverses through the misfortunes of his loved ones, his past and mental health before it was fashionable to do so. It was teenage despair at its purest and even now its not an easy listen.

'Both Sides of a Smile' has the roots of the same tree. Together with James Blake, they are able to produce one of the emotionally sophisticated songs of his career. Dave dwells on his shortcomings and how he makes excuses for himself, questioning how he can form close relationships when he’s famous. He then flips the song on his head completely by bringing in ShaSimone to tell the other side of the story where Dave isn’t the cause of sympathy but the cause of misery.

The level of self-reflection on the song is something that is at a level that some of the most intelligent people around will not be able to reach - this is just a kid from Streatham with a life confounded by trauma.

You can talk about 'Lesley' if you want - where Dave breaks down the story of a woman who’s the victim of domestic abuse in such a clear and powerful way. Or you can talk about 'Heart Attack' which might be the most devastating song in his whole catalogue. For 10 minutes straight, Dave attacks his trauma, his family history and everything which has made him who he is. It takes us through the very nook and crannies of his life and instead of glorifying his success and achievements which he easily could and what most others would do, he articulates this raw pain in ways many would never dare.

There’s plenty of others songs you can fit into this umbrella, but the broadening point is that despite being one of the most successful British rappers of all time, Dave’s constant showcases of the fact that he is only a human being with a plethora of mistakes and flaws - makes it so much easier for his audience, no matter where or who they are - to connect with him and form a relationship with him that goes deeper than music. You can’t put a number on what it was like for a young black boy or girl to listen to 'Black' for the first time and realise how much strength they hold. You can’t underestimate the help he’s given to those who have lost a loved one to knife crime or domestic abuse.

Yes, he’s one of the most technically gifted rappers to come out of this country and yes he knows how to make a hit. But it’s those taboo topics he so freely discusses - that make him more than just a musician, it makes him one of the voices of this generation.

It’s something that only a few artists dare to do. His music gives hope to those who are struggling. It makes us realise that we aren’t all alone in this. His songs beckon our own self-reflection.

He was once that vicious 15 year old pouring his heart out on that Blackbox freestyle. His talent was obvious from there but the direction he chose to take it in speaks to the fact this is a brilliant person behind a brilliant musician.