M.I’s “You Rappers Should Fix Up Your Life” may not have had the instrumental impact the Short Black Boy wanted for his legacy but it spurred a new hunger within the game.

Rappers now seem to be coming to the realisation that saying something is better than saying nothing at all, even if the whole world would rather listen to easy-serve Afropop with no depth or long term relevance. With the exception of Olamide—who is way too deep to back out of jollof music at this point in his career—YCEE, Falz, Ajebutter22 and a host of other mainstream rappers have indirectly rebuffed M.I’s statement by offering lyrical delivery, wordplay and storytelling across recent releases. This, and the on-going conversation around police brutality and gross human rights abuse by security forces makes Vector’s new single “Gunshots” a great highlight of the gradual return of important Nigerian hip-hop that is both relevant for the time and sonically cohesive.

The haunting opening sample on “Gunshots” is the first striking thing about the track. Samklef, who Vector introduces in early moments of the track, is credited for producing “Gunshots”, which is almost odd given that (despite his pedigree) he is rarely the person you’d expect where the music leans too far on introspection. “Gunshots” surprises in many other ways, carrying a haunting vocal sample that accentuates Vector’s opening chorus where he touches on why modern day slavery is a thing in Libya because, “it’s hard to live here (Nigeria).

Like many tracks exploring themes of hardship, poverty and widespread suffering within the Nigerian society, Vector’s anger is aimed at the government. The president flying out/ everybody crying out/ We have hospitals here, I think you should try them too he raps, decrying the insistent of public officials on medical excursions instead of working to better Nigeria’s broken health care system.

Inadvertently, Vector’s “Gunshots” may likely slink into the same class of pseudo-conscious songs that have attempted to call out the Nigerian government for its excesses. But 10 years from now, tracks like “Gunshots” will persist as a sonic snapshot of Nigeria in 2017.

Stream Vector’s “Gunshots” here