He may be in his early 20s but rapper D-Truce has stories for days.
His journey began in Isolo, as he will often remind you in his verses.
But hip-hop gave him its first nod when legendary MC, Mode 9 gave him a verse on his mixtape, ‘Occupy The Throne’ in 2012.
Months later, the teenage rapper would drop his first mixtape, The Truce Shall Set You Free.
And thus began a journey in the grimy underground of Nigerian hip-hop.
Born Ebuka Anyasie, D-Truce’s music offers a front-row view of the life of a typical young Nigerian male – he navigates family, career, relationships and all the motions.
His sound combines influences from hip hop, soul, R&B to traditional melodies.
Truce often describes himself as a project artist – the kind more inclined to release bodies of work than singles – and he has the work to prove it.
In 2016, now signed to X3M Music, he released the 8-EDEN EP. “23 to Life”, a project about family and life, was released to mark his 23rd birthday in 2017.
His next project saw D-Truce go way back for inspiration. Backbenchers: Vol 1, a project with TylerRIDDIM, was the product. The two have been friends since nursery school.
Since EDEN’s release, Truce has exerted some effort into representing the theme of the album as clearly as possible on the cover.
Of course, the inspirations have changed and loyalties have switched over time. The beat-up Mitsubishi and a brick wall were good enough for “23 to Life” but for “2 Birds, 1 Stone”, Truce took it somewhere different.
The album art, created by visual artist Osagie, depicts the dual aspects of Truce’s pursuits
There’s music and a recording microphone on one side and a briefcase and a 9-5 on the other.
The album has gotten positive reviews and songs like “Feel/Conversations (feat. Straffitti) reflect the ethos of the project with finesse.
Truce has begun the weeks after his album’s release with a pop-up listening event at Yellow Brick Road, the agency where he works. He plans to host similar shows in agencies and firms around Lagos in the coming months.
