Saekyi Interview

Destany Long: Walk me through your musical journey. When did you start pursuing?

Saekyi: In middle school, I followed artists like Joey Badass and his whole crew. The boom bap rap scene was up so I was always that kid that was rapping on the back of the bus. I started making music intentionally in 2015, just me and my homies with shitty laptops and way too many people in a really small space but the energy was there. It was really cool back then.  

Destany Long: As a teenager dabbling in music, did you ever think you would be doing it full-time?  

Saekyi: No! I’m from Woodbridge, Virginia. I didn't think it was a reality for people in my hometown. I think it was my friends who saw it in me more than I saw it in myself. 

I remember back in school, one of my homies saw me singing at school and he wanted me to come to his studio and record some hooks for him. I never thought of myself as a singer. I just performed in school plays and it was just another form of expression for me at the time. But, I went over there and sang for them. We ended up collaborating and I was singing hooks for my homie and his crew. They were these raspy voice rappers so they were happy to finally have someone to sing their hooks and I was happy for the experience because it caused me to keep coming back. 

Destany Long: It’s amazing to have a group of people in your city who can help push you to start creating music. Now that you’ve stepped into your role as an artist, how has your city influenced your sound and style? 

Saekyi: I always said that Virginia is like a “trickle down state.” I feel like all the big trends from the east coast just washes down like from New York and other areas. If you come to Virginia, it’s broken up into pieces. You have Northern Virginia, which is a lot more D.C and Maryland influenced. I feel like influence trickles down from those areas, but we also have range because if you go out to the Manassas area, you got farms and alot of rural living. Like, growing up, my dad would crank Tim McGraw. I’m in the car and this grown African man is singing Tim McGraw at the top of his lungs. [laughs] I think that was helpful too, cause I never felt like our city had a specific sound and that mindset didn't box us into only making one certain style of music. Everything over here feels a bit more organic. We may not wear our influences on our sleeves but you’ll hear Pharrell through certain drum melodies or Tim McGraw through a certain western twang in a backing vocal. That’s the cool thing about Virginia. Our influences don’t make us, we just utilize them as tools for our own creative sound. 

Destany Long: What has been a defining moment for you in your music career thus far? 

Saekyi: I did a show out in DC and it was my first big show. At the time, I was trying to be in this group with my friends called Pharaoh Gang. I remember my song came up and it was my time to perform, I saw people that I didn’t even know singing the hook and I remember leaving the show thinking, “Oh snap, it’s not just a “my friends thing”, like I can really do this!”

I also realized how much of an impact the internet has in a mirco-way. Like people are able to get my music anywhere. A thousand listens on that one record and people were able to sing it in front of me. I think having that realization early on was valuable because I was like 20 years old at that point so that put a battery in my back for sure. 

Destany Long: Speaking of music and defining moments, I wanted to talk about your incredible EP, “Angels Don't Call Me”. This project was my introduction into your music. How did the concept of this EP come about? 

Saekyi: Ever since I got serious in music, I always think about projects. I knew that after my first EP, Sunset Demos, I wanted to drop “Angels Don’t Call Me”. There are two types of musicians that I’ve noticed: There are musicians that name and then create, and there are musicians that create then give it a name. I fell into the pocket where I had a concept beforehand. I already had the title and everything created, it was more so about finding the music. I love that project because it was my first time experimenting with a concept like that. I knew the topics that I wanted to speak about across the record. I remember taking buses up to New York with this one producer, and sleeping on couches but I was so determined to get the ideas across. I’ve learned so much from making that project. 

Destany Long: Is your process the same for every song or project that you create? 

Saekyi: I think most of the time it starts with a concept. Like this next project, I have a name for it, and I have certain topics I want to talk about but the one thing I would change this time around is to not be so strict. I feel like I was a bit too strict on “Angels Don’t Call Me”. I just really wanted my ideas to translate, and I think that just comes from wanting the listener to really understand what you’re trying to get across. This time around I want to move with feeling. My girl and I always say we want to be architects of feelings and let everything else come with it. 

Destany Long: If you had the chance to make a legendary album, what three artists would you feature? 

Saekyi: I’m thinking of Michael Kiwanuka because I love that guy. This may be a regular Virginia answer but I’d pick Pharrell and honestly, I’d probably want him as a feature more than a producer. I love his production but I also love his voice and I think I could learn alot working with him. The last person I would pick is Tyler, the Creator and it would be easy because I got him and Pharrell on the same project. 

Destany Long: What’s next for you? What are some goals that you’ve set for yourself?  
Saekyi: One of my goals as a musician is to perform at the Grammys. Like, I hope I could win one day but I’d love to just perform at one because I’ve seen some crazy ass Grammy performances. But for now, my goal is to keep making music and living in the simplicity of things. For me, it’s not about the number of streams or listeners. I don’t think I could ever not make music because I live in song. I would be sitting on the train and the percussion of the train tracks turns into a song; that’s just how life is for me.