Here is an odd but chuckle-worthy question that should keep you up at night: What if DaGrin’s signature laugh was intentionally made to sound like the bleat of a goat, because he knew he would be the G.O.A.T (Greatest Of All Time). It sounds corny, but humour me. Afterall, Nothing makes a martyr out of a man better than death for a worthy cause at his/her prime. That’s why DaGrin’s entire career is celebrated in its wholeness, even though, it’s relatively impossible to pinpoint how would’ve turned out had he been alive.

However, while the question of how true he would have stayed to his path remains, “Ghetto Dreams”, one of the greatest highlights of his sophomore album, C.E.O gives credible insight of just how big DaGrin dreamed. On “Ghetto Dreams” DaGrin spends an extended first verse reminiscing about how his life before the money and fame. His clubbing-broke struggles sound like normal millennial problems at first listen, but what you hear is a series of thought-provoking questions the average man with nothing to eat, may catch himself pondering over as he goes about everyday survival.

The second verse on “Ghetto Dreams” plays like a dream in itself. DaGrin keeps his voice somber while casually discussing a range of goals he’s had over the years and at least one reason why he stopped pursuing it. This is perhaps the greatest portrait of social conditioning and strife in the ghetto ever painted on a Nigerian rap song. Dagrin is flawed and honest as he raps about how he is both conflicted internally and confined to reality that makes it impossible to see beyond his nose. You hear this particularly, when he raps about how poverty stopped him from aspiring to be a blue collar professor or when he speaks of his venture and eventual quitting of local league football due to lack of funds to acquire the proper kits.

Though DaGrin retains most of the songwriting credits for “Ghetto Dreams”, producer Sossick’s uncredited languid hook is what ties the track together. It reminds us of motivational speakers who claim hardwork is the key to success but forget that without privilege or opportunity, the former act would be nullified. Perhaps, like DaGrin, this incongruence between what we want and what we have, is why ghetto dreams are universal amonsgt hustlers all over the globe.

Listen to DaGrin’s “Ghetto Dreams” below