The 19-year-old musical prodigy Santan Dave returns with his second EP Game Over. This project, like his debut Six Paths, retains the leanness coming in at 7 tracks with one feature from MoStack. None of his recent singles (Tequila, Revenge or 100Ms) made the final cut like Samantha which I think is to ensure the EP has a clear narrative.
I said this earlier in the year with 4:44, but I literally woke up and decided to do this on the fly. Also, I’ve never listened to a Dave project in full despite being a big advocate to those less aware of him. His April LA Leakers freestyle got pushed around a few Whatsapp groups, so when Tequila came out I was like ah, I’ve heard this. Anyway, without any more build up let’s get to the tracks!
1.Game Over
The EP kicks off with some sounding robotic vocals and then a disgusting grimey drop. Man, it still amazes me how he can basically talk at grime tempo and remain so on beat. From the intro, I can discern the Game Over concept is that it’s the end for those that previously played him. As I expected with the title the gaming references are heavy in this; I picked up all the Street Fighter ones.
“15 putting in work, tryna get herd like I wanna bring cattle in”.
2. Question Time*
It’s so clear why this has accumulated 1.5 million views in 3 weeks when listening to this now. It’s so relatable, the issues are current (uni fees, wars, and government) and the production punches. This song is so empowering, it’s the level I’d expect from a Lowkey, Akala etc. Basically, I rate it extremely highly, he demonstrates a wider awareness so many light years ahead of his age.
“The letters in our car said my mum was overdraft but somehow I still had dinner money in my pocket”.
3. Attitude
Ok, with that last track hitting us with a reality cheque it sounds like this will lighten things up. Yep, I was right, this is the fun Dave which he demonstrates with tracks like Thiago Silva. There is a load of football references(5+) I’m going to listen out to see if he mentions the same players later on, lol (when will he run out??). Early days but there hasn’t been one song I haven’t liked so far, this was a cool cruise.
4. Calling Me Out
Ok, here is the flow switch it’s got that Dancehall / Reggae feeling to it with the bounce. I’ve never heard him on this type of melody before so this was a surprise. That “lighty looking like a wifey” section at 29 seconds had me bopping away. He even slotted in a guitar breakdown towards the end, nice touch to a well produced the track.
5. How I Met My Ex
From the keys at the start of the song, I can tell this is going to be a moving one. This song gives us some great storytelling and life advice like he did with Picture Me. The level of openness can only be applauded, the 7 minutes flew by. There aren’t much more words to describe it’s a must listen plain and simple.
“Any complications I’m blaming it on the liquor, changing my name on Twitter and blocking her on my Insta”.
6. No Words (Ft MoStack)*
This song is so fun, it far exceeds the melodies of Attitude and Calling Me Out by a distance.This will do some ridiculous numbers it’s crossover-ready,club-ready and radio-ready. This is the best melodic hit he’s had so far in my opinion (yep over Wanna Know) and MoStack smashes it to bits. There’s no way he can leave of these bangers off his debut album surely??!.
7. My 19th Birthday*
Another style again from the Bl@CKBOX maestro, this project has been flawless listen from top to bottom. Dave wraps the EP up with a statement for the future and a look back at the grittiness of the past. Wow.
An impactful and concise EP from Dave which further proves he can explicitly tackle cultural issues and give us some fun tunes at the same time. Even at 19 in this early stage of his career, I don’t see how you can overlook this guy. To use a football analogy he’s almost like Messi at 17 when he first came into the Barcelona team. The question is will he be Messi in a couple of years from now or end up like Theo Walcott?. I’m confident he can keep it up, he’s doing some exceptional stuff at the moment with these EPs/singles so can’t wait for his debut album.
Top 3 tracks: No Words, Question Time and My 19th Birthday
9/10
Fancy becoming part of the inspirEnrich contributor family? 😀 head over to here: inspirenrich.com/contribute
