REVIEW: Thick with residue of immersions, ANTIK DUST's debut album "EXIT" hits a year.
By GFM EDITORIAL
The year is 2019, 31st May. A couple of months before we exit into a world pandemic. With a music revolution going on in Kigali’s streets, ANTIK DUST drops its debut album, which would go on to be highly claimed as the youth voice to exist again.
ANTIK DUST is a collective of creative artists that express themselves through music, visuals, and designs, plus clothes manufacturing under the brand “FEYE.” While they were bonded together by music, these other artistic aspects came as a flawless complexion element of the music that they were making.
“EXIT” was the introduction of the collective into the Rwandan music scene. With the introduction of many sounds going on, ANTIK DUST had their role to play as a self-aware youth. With so many issues, discoveries, risks, and problems that the youth face today, AD line up what to be a 20-year-old Rwandan look.
T20 or “Turned 20” is the first single off the album, and it sets a tone on what you are going to hear off the tape. This song features MVFASTA and NERIWEST. With a cracking-in-laughter voice, MVFASTA starts the song joking how he just turned 20 and is getting old. He keeps singing on how, as a 20-year-old man, he is facing his truths while proving himself in the world. NERIWEST comes in the last verse claiming not to have fully presented himself to the world. “Nti bucura nkanjye, sindaza nanjye,” he mentions.
With thirteen songs that are on the album, only two of them have visuals. NGAARA’s Ad served as this body of work’s interlude and was the first to go out as visuals. This song reflects on NGAARA’s frustrations and life confusion. With fast flashing images, this video visually portrays the artist’s mind disturbance while he overthinks about his whole existence.
“Heaven or Hell,
Freedom or Jail,
Pleasure or Pain,
Afraid to exist?
EXIT, EXIT!” – Ngaara
“IBARE” serves as the second single to have visuals on the album. With it being the most viewed song on the tape, it brings back memories of a culturally known chorus from the country’s north side. It revolves around reflections on how growing up; you tend to stop doing some things because of fear and giving critics a room in your life. “Living is what you make of dying” -NERIWEST melodically insists in his verse.
A year after “EXIT” went out has been a creatively start of ANTIK DUST and an in-print of another generational sound. With many songs such as SADIVA, XY, I&I, ESCAPE, and many more, this album plays out like J.K Rowling books in miniature.
EXIT features several artists, including Slum Drip, Amalon, And Bushali.
Can we expect another body of work from AD soon? Let’s stay tuned.