Dagrin: Nigeria’s Poetic Ghetto Soldier

I had a dream to make Ajah my resident
I had a dream to become a Nigerian President
Money that Presidents embezzled encouraged me
Curses that the masses gave them discouraged me…
—Dagrin ft. Sossick in Ghetto Dream

Some rappers are poets because their lyrics rhyme, but we don’t classify them as poets, do we? Late Dagrin was a comical and musical poet. His lyrics were on his private life which involved a lot of struggling, suffering, and hustling in order to survive. He told Liz Yemoja on her TV show that he was a 23 year old hustler that was hardly at home.

He was an inspiration to a lot of Ghetto kids. He was able to capture the minds of young southern Nigerians, and the downtrodden adults. His popularity in the Afro hip-hop world spread widely at the grassroots level although he did not tag himself in the Afro hip-hop genre. He was familiar with the hardship that a lot of Nigerians went through, and lamented on it. Lyrically, Dagrin was a ghetto soldier.

What did Dagrin have in common with a Famous Accountant (FA)? Both of them were from polygamous homes, and did not have socks to wear to school although the FA was from a rich family while Dagrin was from a less privileged family. FA's stepmother despised him. Dagrin told City People magazine that he went to school in slippers instead of socks, and shoes because his family lived in squalor. He used to help his mother to hawk kerosene. It will be recalled that the current Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi had no shoes to wear to primary school, and UK based entrepreneur Alexander Amosu could not afford to wear Nike “designer” trainers to school. He started his first business in order to buy a pair. The kids that used to ignore him at school later began to interact with him.

Dagrin was influenced by American rappers like Rakim, Biggie, and Mos Def. He capitalized on his talent because it was the only way to get out of poverty. He was not versatile in English, and decided to rap in Yoruba most of the time, and became famous. He told the Nigerian Compass that he started rapping professionally six years ago, and was a dullard although his parents could not afford to pay his college fees. He did not hide such facts in his unreleased track If I Die.

Jamati described Dagrin as Nigeria's 50 Cent. Nigerian’s Lil Wayne is 2Sure 2Shizzy, but Dagrin was also like Lil Wayne because he was raw although he was not as bad as jailed Lil Wayne. Lil Wayne’s Pu**y Monster is raw to the core. Dagrin did not mince words in Idi Nla ft. Lala e.g., Mo like Booty yen/Mofe fi se Office (I like that booty/I want to make it my office).

On today’s Magazine Show (BEN TV – Sky Channel 184), Presenter Femi Amusan said that the London Coko Bar.Com Music Festival, which will be held on 31 May 2010 at the Indig02 will be dedicated to Dagrin because he was supposed to perform at the upcoming show. JJC revealed how Dagrin influenced the collaboration of his second and Naija Remix of the song We Are Africans which was filmed in Nigeria feat Dagrin, Femi Kuti, Eldee, Kel, DJ Zeez, Ragga Remi, and Moe Money.

Olaitan Oladapo Olaonipekun aka Dagrin was buried yesterday at Ebony Private Vault, Atan, Yaba in Lagos. According to press reports, fans wept at the funeral because he was a lovable person. Rest in Peace Akogun Omo Ogun.
DaGrin’s music recognized on BBC Radio – Destination Africa with Dj EDU

Dust to Dust

Grinning from the day he was born
Poverty hit him like a bull’s horn
Fans followed him from the mews
But he liked the bible without the pews

Dust to dust
Bust to bust
The rapper is gone
But the booty girls are big and ‘overdone’

Dagrin, rest in peace
With the ‘Kiss of Death’ vibes of Jadakiss
And three Hip Hop World Award nominations
If you win, we’ll scream ‘congratulations’.

Esther on Welcome to Lagos 3

Luck may 'shine' on Esther Ogunleke, 24 , who was on Welcome to Lagos (Part 3) . A London based Black female TV presenter said that people should help Esther and ‘rescue’ her from the Kuramo Beach slum in Lagos. In fact, some sympathizers are thinking of how to help her. Esther was described as a “raw talent”. She hopes to become a journalist or telecom executive.

A Born Again Christian, Esther sells GSM phone recharge cards aka top-up cards. Esther and her husband Segun separated because she found romantic text messages on his mobile phone. She threw him out of their one bedroom shack, and he had to squat with friends because she suspected that he was having an affair. Instead of him to apologize for receiving such poetic messages, he was very cocky about the incident. Segun’s inability to say sorry led to the break up of his marriage. It was sad. What happens if a sexy message is sent to the wrong number? Would the receiver be guilty?
There should be a benefit of doubt before husbands and wives decide to take drastic actions. Maybe Esther should take Segun back even if it would be his last chance. Segun should apologize before it is too late. Some viewers liked Esther because she is a loyal and hard working mother of one. She had a daughter before she met Segun.