For a rapper in an industry that is considered saturated, Chukwuebuka Dusten Anyasie, aka Dusten Truce, says that he is bringing something new to the table. The electrical engineer, who also plays Jared on popular sitcom Tinsel, speaks with OVWE MEDEME on his career path, influences and a host of other issues.
WITH an engineering certificate, how did you end up doing music?
Well honestly, I never set out to become a musician and I’m not gonna give you the cliché, “I didn’t choose music, music chose me.”That’s very lame. Initially, I played basketball. I actually thought I was going to play in the NBA or something but somewhere along the line, growing up, some stuffs happened with my parents, my family and it left me in a certain place mentally and that was what led to the quietness I spoke of earlier. And during this period, I started reading a lot and writing a lot and around that period, some great albums came out like MI’s Illegal music mixtape, The Talk About It, 50Cent dropped TheMassacre.
There was so much music material in circulation and I started listening to rap music and somewhere along the line I started taking random things I wrote and started writing them into verses and then I met friends that were actively into music. We started doing things together and that was it. I found myself rapping.
You sound like a huge rap fan. Of all these names you mentioned, who inspires you most?
I cannot point to one person and say this is the most inspirational rapper I’ve listened to because there’s a whole bunch of them. My playlist is crazy and scattered with names you’ve probably never heard of and besides just hip hop, I listen to a lot of house music. I listen to a reasonable amount of jazz and traditional Afrobeat like highlife and all that stuff.So I literally just draw inspiration from everything I hear that’s beautiful and sounds great.
How long have you been in the industry?
Officially since 2011, so this will make it my sixth year.
Do you still pay basketball?
When I have free time to, yes!
What style are you bringing on your own rap?
Basically, I am my own style because when I interact with the people, I’m having discussion. I easily speak English and pidgin. Sometimes I listen to music that I recorded and I don’t even realise I’m rapping in pidgin. I’m trying to make music an extension of myself on the long run. I’m not trying to sound a certain type of way or try to force a sound. If I feel sad today, I’m making a sad song. Because I wasn’t trying to fake my sound yesterday, it would be easier for me to sound the same way today.
We’ve seen hard-core rappers who had to water down their style just to be commercial. Have you taken that consideration?
Let me differentiate between your style and your genre so to speak. Your sound is what you sound like when your music comes on. It’s like your aura. Your style is if you choose to rap, to sing whatever! Now hip-hop is one of the biggest genres ever. You can sing, rap, you can sing-rap.
And one thing I always say is any form of music with the intention to make money is commercial. It doesn’t matter what it sounds like. The difference is what sounds like pop music here may not sound like pop music elsewhere. In America today, hip hop is the pop music. But it’s funny because hip hop is not even the bestselling genre. Country music sells more than hip-hop. Down here, our pop is jollof music but artistes like Seun Kuti, Asa, are still making a lot of money and name for themselves. Artistes are free to explore with their sound. But I refer to my style as feel-good music.
How does that sound?
It’s very relative to the environment. After the release of Better days, I did like a short series online called the pop culture series where I just take random topics and articles from the social media and turn into songs. These are basically phrases you have seen, hashtags you have seen, just random stuffs and in my unreleased material, it’s like that, real life situations, real life issues. I’m not trying to sound extravagant, like telling you I have a Ferrari when I don’t. Maybe when I buy a Ferrari, I can say I have a Ferrari on my song, you get it? I’m just very simple, straightforward and relatable, that’s how my music is.
So what do you drive now?
I drive a Mitsubishi (Laughs)… I didn’t even buy it. It’s my mom’s old car and I took it.
Educational background.
I studied electrical engineering at Yabatech. It was a stressful course. That course was torture. I went to three secondary schools. Right now, I work as a copywriter for X3M Ideas advertising agency.
Doyou have any regrets not practising electrical engineering?
I don’t actually. To be honest I took the course because of pressure and that was all that was available. My dad was a scientist and my mom always wanted me to study art because she had that feeling that I had something artistry about me but I was really stubborn. I wanted to prove a point that I could do this science thing and excel at it but I was wrong. I was young and silly, so, yeah, I do not regret leaving electrical engineering. If I even had the chance to go back, I probably won’t study it as a course.
What would you study?
I would probably study creative arts or graphic design or something more in relation to what I do right now because I never thought I would end up making money off being a writer of music.
Are you working on any project right now?
I have an EP I’m working on. It’s actually recorded. We are just putting finishing touches to it. It’s titled Eden, so now I’m thinking of how to market Eden. It’s not just about putting out the EP. I think of it as a campaign rather than just release. How long is it going to run, what are the touch points? What brands am I trying to market to, to put money back into what have done? What channel do I use to get to my audience? I might not be doing Wizkid type numbers but I’d probably be achieving my points.
So that when it gets to the day of reckoning, I can say I did this, this and this. It all adds up to your catalogue. Music is a steady process. You don’t just blow up one time, because the faster you blow up, the faster you fade. It’s the same with every profession.
Do you look back and regret not playing basketball professionally?
I really don’t know, to be honest. I have friends that play professional basketball. When I was in school, some clubs in the Nigerian league actually wanted me to come play for them, but I went to see some of their game and it was too intense.
I don’t think I regret not playing basketball because the sports industry here is growing but it’s tough. It’s a lot of struggle. If you’re not playing basketball somewhere in America or Europe, you’re probably going to have a very hard time. So I don’t regret not doing it.
What do you want to achieve with your music?
I want to be able to be impactful with my music. I don’t just want to be someone that makes money off my music. I want to be able to spark a reaction on people. It might be too far-fetched but like what Idris Abdukareem did with Jagajaga.
What role do you play in Tinsel
My character’s name is Jared. I am Salewa’s love interest. We have a couple of break ups and make ups. Salewa is played by Tomi Odunsi. She’s also a singer. She’s a beautiful person.
Is Tinsel your first acting gig?
Officially, yes. I did a couple of skits with Yomi Black back in the day. We’ve worked back and forth before but my first official acting gig is Tinsel.
What does the name D-Truce stand for?
Basically, we all know that ‘truce’ means peace or an agreement for peace of some sort. My friends in secondary school started calling me that because I was really quiet which was due to a lot of things I went through growing up, family drama and all that. And the D is Dustin, my English name. It’s actually like a full name; Dustin Truce basically, but I just cut it short so it’s simple and easy to remember.
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