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Sampha's Reflective New Album "Lahai" Explores Human Connection | SWAY’S UNIVERSE
Nov 17, 2023
British singer, songwriter, and musician, Sampha recently stopped by Sway In The Morning to talk about his latest album, "Lahai". The album revolves around Sampha's reflections on human connection, inspired by his own experiences as a son who lost his parents and is now a father.
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Sampha's Reflective New Album "Lahai" Explores Human Connection | SWAY’S UNIVERSE
https://youtu.be/bU49IlcM1hY
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0:00
I sitting there thinking about this
0:01
young man that's in front of us
0:03
today cuz I've been listening to
0:06
him um as a feature in some instances I
0:11
love the work he's done with
0:13
Sid um I think it was called show love I
0:17
love the work that he he's done with
0:19
Salange oh yeah early on with don't
0:22
touch my hair I believe it was um what
0:25
he did with Kendrick Lamar who to me is
0:28
the most important voice coming out of a
0:31
MC um of of his of this
0:34
generation and the man has done it
0:37
citizens I promise you I don't know him
0:39
personally but I feel like I do cuz when
0:41
you listen to his music he touches
0:44
chords that many don't reach you know
0:48
his individualism his uniqueness and
0:50
with Tracy uh she and I were speaking
0:52
about this the the texture of his voice
0:55
yes um is only identifiable to him you
0:59
know
1:00
I'm not sure where this young man is
1:02
digging
1:03
from whether it's first that project
1:06
process I'm not sure where it's coming
1:08
from but it ain't coming from someplace
1:11
on this Earth in my opinion this man is
1:15
receiving signals Tracy G oh yeah this
1:18
man is processing frequencies he's a
1:21
conduit and it's on purpose it's on a
1:23
purpose whether he realizes it or not um
1:26
you've been very very um instrumental
1:29
and
1:30
really making people's days better um
1:34
making folks confront their own
1:36
vulnerabilities through you confronting
1:38
yours right um I think what you've done
1:41
musically is more than just sound
1:43
waves uh it's wave therapy if you will
1:47
right I see what you did there you see
1:48
what I did right there that just came
1:50
off the top too when I'm with them I'm
1:51
feeling creative right I'm getting the
1:53
same getting
1:56
listen this man to me as I said before
1:59
is an artist if you don't know him it's
2:02
okay You' I'm sure you've heard his
2:05
music but get to know him citizens
2:07
please welcome him to the show for the
2:09
first time give it up for S ladies and
2:12
gentlemen 888 742
2:15
3345 who are you man who are you what's
2:20
your
2:21
sign you do you know who you are I'm a
2:24
guy from L
2:27
mondon from lond just a guy from London
2:30
huh yeah just doing his thing just doing
2:32
your thing sat in front of a piano and
2:35
and the rest is history you could say
2:38
that yeah I guess so yeah yeah but that
2:41
was uh that was very touching um I don't
2:43
even know what to say I'm kind of my by
2:45
that well look
2:47
man it's just you look I I've got I've
2:50
been in this business a long time right
2:53
and um I I I see things differently uh
2:56
when artists I I think an artist is an
2:59
angel you know under the right
3:01
conditions artists are able to just make
3:03
people reflect tap into your curiosity
3:05
make you figure things out let you know
3:07
you're not alone right and when I find
3:10
if I for me personally I didn't get into
3:12
music to be in the business you know you
3:14
sat in front of a a piano I sat in front
3:17
of a saxophone as a youth right and I
3:19
sat in front of a bass clarinet as a
3:22
youth and so um music to me is a little
3:25
different I mean we do our Shuffle our
3:27
dance to survive and make a living in
3:29
the business
3:30
but when someone like Lauren Hill M for
3:33
example puts together a collective like
3:36
miseducation of Lauren Hill and however
3:39
many years later 25 years later you
3:42
don't get tired of hearing one song
3:44
because it's applicable to whatever's
3:46
happening then it's applicable to what's
3:48
happening now that's something special
3:51
truly that's to me it's even Beyond
3:53
Lawrence she's just the conduit and I
3:56
feel like listening to your music and
3:57
then understanding all the adversity you
3:59
faced over the years and the losses that
4:02
you've had to um navigate through right
4:05
emotionally mentally and physically and
4:07
the gains that you've you know being a
4:09
father now that you've also acquired you
4:11
know and hearing this new album you know
4:14
I think it's right on time I think it's
4:17
good timing for you and uh whatever you
4:20
learned about yourself in the process
4:21
and and continue to share with us I
4:24
think it's a blessing so when I met you
4:26
today I wanted to hug you and say thank
4:27
you if nothing else
4:30
thank you man get that man a round of
4:31
applause his name Isa I want to know the
4:35
formula listen you can know the formula
4:37
you can have all the ingredients but
4:39
that end product ain't going to turn out
4:41
the same what what did the ti tell me
4:43
about the title of the album yeah so my
4:46
album my new album is called laigh yeah
4:49
uh it's my middle name okay okay yep um
4:53
and it's my my mother's father's name my
4:56
grandfather who I actually never met um
5:00
but I guess this album I was going
5:03
through things and I was thinking about
5:05
uh you know I became a father in the
5:07
process of making the record uh and um I
5:12
was thinking about sort of you know the
5:13
people
5:15
who I'd lost but then also feeling the
5:18
energy from what of them through uh you
5:21
know seeing like a new life and um I was
5:24
thinking a lot about s ancestry and yeah
5:27
me sometimes also feeling a little bit
5:29
lost I guess and feeling like I needed
5:31
to look back kind of maybe sort of Afro
5:34
futurist kind of um themes of like you
5:37
know need needing to look back to go
5:39
forward kind of yeah so that's that's
5:41
all tied up in the name Lai and it's a
5:44
personal record as well so it just felt
5:46
right it feel it's a great it's um a
5:48
great name when you your your
5:50
grandfather that you never met was he
5:52
from Sierra Leon yeah okay so what did
5:54
he ever come to the UK or or did he no
5:56
no I don't think he did he never did huh
5:58
so the traditions of Sierra Leon you you
6:00
carry those were you taught that as a
6:02
kid or customs and just it's just in you
6:05
know as part of my culture is like it
6:07
was just lived it you know in my in my
6:09
household okay yeah and it's something
6:10
that you know one of those things that
6:12
definitely can start to drift as I get
6:13
older and as I get I need I need to made
6:15
the effort to kind of reconnect and
6:18
especially having like a daughter she's
6:19
one more step removed than I am so you
6:22
know just making sure I stay in touch
6:24
with my family and I do need to try and
6:26
learn how to cook some more dishes and
6:28
and bring it you don't know how to cook
6:30
dog I do I I can't cook but yeah I
6:33
definitely I need to step my game up a
6:35
it's room for
6:36
improvement I got a daughter she's grown
6:39
now she's an adult but um man I remember
6:43
uh not knowing how to change a diaper
6:46
you know did you how how did you do with
6:49
that kind of stuff man like changing
6:51
diapers cooking and I mean was you
6:53
fumbling the baby as a youth I mean as
6:55
an infant you know luckily I've you know
6:57
I've got um I've got four older brothers
7:00
and they're older by quite a distance so
7:04
I I became an uncle at like five years
7:06
old okay all right I wasn't I wasn't
7:08
changing
7:09
nappies but you was watching but I've
7:12
had like nieces and nephews and so I've
7:14
had a bit of practice so that that side
7:16
of things wasn't a complete shock to me
7:19
yo yo one of your brothers uh and this
7:21
is us getting to know you s Sam SFA is
7:23
here 888 742
7:25
3345 uh was really instrumental and and
7:28
and you just pursuing music um one of
7:30
your brothers built a studio a makeshift
7:32
Studio when you were younger or yeah he
7:34
had he just like in his bedroom like he
7:36
moved like 5 minutes down the road from
7:38
my mom's house okay and I used to just
7:40
bug him all the time I would go over
7:42
unannounced and just you go into his
7:45
bedroom and sort of burn like B like he
7:48
had like CDs and I just used to like
7:50
make a 15sec track and burn it on the CD
7:53
just wasting his CDs terrible but um he
7:56
was he was so like kind and open never
7:59
like rejected me never told me to go
8:01
home um yeah and also he's kind of like
8:04
he has really eclectic music taste so I
8:06
was going through MH well if his CDs and
8:09
he would show me music so yeah it was
8:11
very sunny shout out to Sunny Sunny what
8:14
up Sunny yo Sunny what up man Swiggity
8:17
um how how's your family embraced you
8:20
know when you're that young when you're
8:21
that much younger you know and you see
8:23
your young I'm the youngest sibling in
8:24
my my family but okay and I I've been
8:27
able to do things folks haven't been
8:28
able to do in my in my community as well
8:30
in my family in terms of you know the
8:32
advancement in it's music business and
8:34
it's always interesting how family
8:36
members receive that embrace it or how
8:38
they even cope because your Fame is now
8:41
theirs too yeah what did did is it a I
8:43
can't believe this dude is that famous
8:45
thing or I've got bro like my brothers
8:48
are extremely proud sometimes
8:50
embarrassingly so like you know like
8:52
they'll I've got an older brother who
8:54
like gets my music played in the clubs
8:56
that he goes to and it's definitely not
8:58
the kind of the
9:00
mood somehow but yeah they were really
9:03
proud and you know like they all got a
9:05
part in you know me being me musically
9:08
speaking I always feel like you know I
9:11
was like they were like the pioneers and
9:12
I just got to kind of uh get the fruits
9:15
of their kind of listening labor you
9:17
know um so yeah and they're always
9:19
really supported from a very young age
9:21
so yeah I love it soundi here Tracy I
9:23
know U you want to jump in I'm curious
9:25
about your locks I had locks for 17
9:28
years so what was your what's your lock
9:30
Journey what made you my lock journey I
9:33
think you know what I don't know I don't
9:35
exactly know the Genesis if I'm
9:36
perfectly honest I believe I might have
9:39
stopped combing my hair for like a week
9:41
and it started making some interesting
9:43
patterns and I was like oh this is cool
9:46
and then I just sort of Let It Go yeah
9:49
um and my mom was like what is
9:53
happening she kind of just gave up on
9:55
like asking what I'm doing with my hair
9:58
luckily the music was going well and I
10:00
was like beginning to support myself so
10:02
she kind of just like let me do my thing
10:04
and she was like but um yeah I guess
10:06
it's just free form free form but that
10:09
that that to me is a that's a revolution
10:12
you know that's that's Rebellion that's
10:15
that's standing outside of the the
10:17
status quo but it's also like acceptance
10:20
I feel like it really reflects you as an
10:21
artist being in your organic State you
10:24
know and allowing um just time to create
10:28
the shapes of your hair
10:29
the shapes of your life and embracing it
10:31
and seeing the art in it even if other
10:33
people don't get it in due time I mean
10:36
this is this Imaging is also a part of
10:39
your music people have different
10:40
entryways into an artist so someone
10:43
could look at you and be like nah he has
10:44
something interesting to say I can feel
10:46
it he's not manufactured and I bet your
10:48
mom loves it now
10:50
too she might
10:52
do she'll cover around well when sway
10:55
was mentioning your the texture of your
10:58
voice SFA I mean you are an anomaly um
11:02
you're an artist that cannot be debated
11:05
online in my opinion because there is
11:08
something that is so ethereal yet
11:11
haunting about your voice or something
11:13
very commanding but softening about your
11:16
voice and quite often especially in
11:19
black music we'll have conversations
11:21
around genres do we need them are they
11:24
limiting you know recently we were
11:26
talking about you know DOA cat and folks
11:28
believing uh I don't know if she's rap
11:30
Mariah the scientist recently is saying
11:32
how she doesn't want to be called an R&B
11:34
artist she feels Like A and B is better
11:37
alternative Blues that's what she calls
11:39
it um for you sta because you cannot be
11:42
placed in a box in the slightest as well
11:44
um how would you describe your music and
11:48
is it important or not important to you
11:50
to be categorized in a particular
11:53
genre um it's definitely like you know
11:57
hybrid of like things I'm influenced by
11:59
and I don't get particularly annoyed or
12:02
like you know when people might call me
12:04
this or that or say I'm R&B and I kind
12:07
of I feel like if ever I do feel away
12:10
about something I kind of question like
12:12
why do I feel away about this why don't
12:14
I want to be associated with this
12:15
actually yeah and really in like you
12:17
know rhythm and blues or whatever you
12:18
know or
12:20
R&B it's something that I've you know
12:22
learned to embrace Within Myself and you
12:24
know I can see the similarities but yeah
12:27
with the genre I guess and I'm I'm
12:28
someone who naturally I put things into
12:29
the genre as well when I'm trying to
12:30
explain something to someone I go oh you
12:32
know what yeah they're kind of like this
12:34
and this and that so I feel like it's a
12:36
natural it's natural to kind of
12:37
categorize but I do enjoy also like you
12:41
know letting those kind of boundaries
12:43
start to kind of melt away or the the
12:46
moments where I can kind of see the
12:49
connection between things um and I think
12:52
that's that's one thing you know in sort
12:53
of retrospect in making my music I start
12:55
to see the connection between all these
12:56
genres that I'm into yeah and how I kind
12:59
of blend them and also just how I grew
13:01
up where I grew up and you know the
13:02
different cultures that I've been a part
13:04
of and I am a part of and that I am you
13:06
know MH yeah all kind of just I feel
13:09
like it all kind of um solidifies or
13:11
crystallizes in in this kind of form of
13:13
expression yeah one of a kind dude your
13:16
talking voice is even incredible bro I
13:18
wish you could have read me bedtime
13:20
story the way you talk dude it's like
13:23
yeah it's something else on soundfields
13:26
here 888 742 3345 first song I played
13:30
was uh stereo color cloud first song on
13:33
this project yeah Shaman's dream
13:35
Shaman's dream sequencing is um so um
13:40
important well I I don't know I mean I
13:43
came up in an era where the sequence of
13:45
the album meant a lot I typically listen
13:47
to albums from the I know this is screwy
13:50
but I I listen from the back to the
13:52
front and then I come back from the
13:54
front to the back okay uh this was a
13:56
song you said you wanted to sound
13:58
animated right you know colorful how do
14:00
you make sound colorful and animated by
14:05
your process I don't I don't quite know
14:09
how I do that you know like I I
14:11
generally I'm quite a visual yeah and so
14:14
when I start making something like a
14:16
visual start to like form in my head I
14:18
think while like I don't know I'm
14:20
experimenting with like a particular
14:22
production technique or um I'll have
14:25
like movies on in the background and I
14:27
have like picture book on the floor um
14:30
and then I'll I'll let the kind of the
14:32
the sound like inform me and I'll sort
14:34
of build upon whatever comes naturally
14:37
you know like MH um and I feel like if I
14:42
see something going in a particular
14:43
direction I'm like ah this is
14:45
interesting to me this is something I
14:46
feeling so I I I don't have the answers
14:49
per se but I feel like as I'm sort of
14:52
getting older I'm sort of able to see
14:54
like what is forming and sort of maybe
14:57
direct it it in that yeah okay where
15:00
it's going I kind of see where
15:01
something's going I think you know okay
15:03
everything he you qualify what I think
15:05
maybe however it's well AKA he's
15:09
experimental he's experimental we we had
15:11
Don Trip artist um um from New Orleans
15:15
Don Trip from New Orleans yeah uh from
15:18
the south all right and um he talked
15:21
about when he goes in the studio he
15:23
spares no songs like What He records is
15:26
what he releases is that is that true
15:29
with you with this project yeah
15:31
definitely like I I don't work on that
15:33
many there's a few songs that didn't
15:35
make the record but generally speaking
15:37
when I start working on something I sort
15:39
of keep returning to it and I sort of I
15:41
you know usually I'll wait until you
15:44
know I I won't just um if I'm writing
15:47
chords or I'm at the piano I'll spend a
15:50
long time before I get to like a
15:52
particular progression that I like
15:53
usually so it's within that process is
15:56
me kind of you know cycling through what
15:59
some someone might have written like
16:01
four songs but I'll just keep cycling
16:03
through and then I'll I'll sort of land
16:05
on something that really kind of hits me
16:07
yeah so I do
16:09
make maybe a bit less and you know in
16:12
the future I might switch it up but
16:13
that's yeah that's that's where you at
16:15
right now yeah all right man I love
16:17
hearing these answers and looking at
16:18
your locks at the same time it all kind
16:20
of makes sense like the locks the locks
16:22
in every direction here stup so is your
16:25
process but it somehow comes together
16:28
somehow
16:30
yeah I love it man go ahead TR yeah you
16:33
know s but can you speak on the secret
16:35
ingredient of time I think in this day
16:38
and age um it almost feels like a lot of
16:41
artists are leaning towards instant
16:44
gratification pushing out um quantity
16:47
and in some cases that sacrifices
16:49
quality I think as a generation they're
16:52
very much as um dang you know time feels
16:55
very Elusive and I have to get all of
16:57
these accomplishments before I reach a
16:58
certain age your debut album process
17:02
which is mwah magnificent it took six
17:05
years to get to this sophomore album and
17:07
I embrace that because like I was
17:09
telling you um before we hit the mics I
17:12
want to feel like my artists are living
17:15
I want to feel like your own personal
17:18
catharism is priority and then the art
17:22
as a product for me the consumer the fan
17:24
is secondary what is it about time time
17:29
that we as people should lean into
17:31
more I mean it's a kind of a it's a it's
17:36
it's a very ordinary thing but also very
17:38
sort of it's a bit of a mystery you know
17:40
what I mean in terms of like just
17:42
thinking about time but in terms of how
17:44
I use time and and sort of my process of
17:47
like writing
17:48
music um I think you know the last like
17:53
10 years I've just gone through a lot
17:55
and sometimes not had enough I feel like
17:57
I just need time time to be able to kind
17:59
of process what I'm going through like
18:02
sometimes I find it difficult to know
18:03
where I am in the moment especially when
18:06
there's a lot going on yeah and so
18:08
sometimes I just need to find myself in
18:10
a space where things kind of slow down
18:12
and I have a bit more time to like
18:14
reflect and deeply Focus because I feel
18:16
especially in this day and age I feel
18:17
like it's it's hard sometimes to keep
18:19
your attention on one thing um and even
18:23
in this like where I am right now it's
18:26
difficult for me to like create fully
18:28
like right now and I feel like that's
18:29
where I was like in process like after
18:32
you know some people might like write on
18:33
tour andh but I I kind of need a bit of
18:36
space personally and and you know I'm
18:38
not to say that you know I feel like
18:41
there might be a time here I go
18:43
again but there might be a time where I
18:46
kind of like um try and do something in
18:49
a shorter space of time you know but um
18:52
it seems to be like slightly innate in
18:54
me sort of writing in this way or taking
18:57
the space to really sort of make sure
18:59
that what I'm writing one is kind of is
19:02
really hitting me and is really I'm
19:04
really having like a genuine connection
19:06
to the output and it feels fresh to me
19:08
so and that just seems to take time you
19:11
know how is navigating the business side
19:13
of this cuz you feel like such a genuine
19:16
pure artist where it's almost like I
19:19
have this maternal instinct to protect
19:22
you I do not want you to be stained by
19:25
the industry you know Heather be our
19:27
co-host she always says rule number one
19:30
it's a dirty game how have you navigated
19:33
that side with your art also being a
19:35
product you being a
19:38
product I mean luckily I've like worked
19:40
with people who have given me space um
19:44
and not try to force me to sort of
19:46
release records every you know every
19:48
year or something or every two years um
19:51
and it's a learning process you know
19:52
it's like there's so many things that
19:54
you kind of you're just thrown into it
19:55
yeah and you don't even recognize the
19:57
kind of system or the structor you're in
19:58
and you sort of I guess you grow and you
20:01
sort of you know there's a lot of
20:02
thinking and there's a lot of um you
20:05
know just just basically just learning
20:06
the landscape yes um and it's difficult
20:09
it's definitely you know I can
20:10
definitely see how it can be it can be
20:13
traumatic experience what's been the
20:15
hardest lesson and art and commerce and
20:17
those things you know things that are
20:19
sort of loggerheads um so yeah it's
20:21
definitely a journey um I I was
20:23
fortunate to like I guess land in a
20:25
space where or work with people who
20:27
quite understanding of you know my sort
20:29
of artistic process and caring and sort
20:32
of protective of that but even within
20:34
that there's still growing and there's
20:35
still you know it's just like in any
20:37
relationships you know yeah of course
20:39
you kind of grow and you kind of see
20:41
where oh maybe this should be different
20:42
or maybe that should be different but
20:44
you know is there a standout lesson
20:46
within this industry maybe in like the
20:48
last maybe during these six years that
20:51
sticks to your mind that um someone else
20:55
could use so they can navigate around
20:58
that type of Pitfall when it comes to
20:59
business yeah I mean one thing is
21:02
definitely recognizing your own value I
21:05
think that's you know um and you know
21:09
that's cuz sometimes and you know being
21:11
able to sort of like stick to your guns
21:13
and and um you know I think for me
21:18
something I can do is sometimes is like
21:19
suppress things or become maybe slightly
21:23
apathetic um and you know you know just
21:27
trying to you know trying to read trying
21:29
to um make sure you know uh what it is
21:33
you're getting yourself into yeah um and
21:37
uh just uh you know finding people that
21:39
you trust I think absolutely finding
21:42
people that you can trust jeez man
21:44
that's wow how you do that s's here
21:48
worked with a lot of great artists off
21:50
the top of my head uh Frank Ocean Sid uh
21:54
Kendrick Lamar Drake uh help
21:57
me
21:59
so I'm not going to ask you about those
22:01
collaborations cuz we we could go see
22:03
orist we could figure that out we can
22:05
find out I want to ask you about you
22:07
while we have you for this short period
22:09
of time you got a song called can't go
22:12
back since we're talking about time and
22:15
so we do this thing I've done this for
22:17
years SFA you wouldn't believe how long
22:19
I've been on the radio you're probably
22:21
looking at me if I told you you
22:23
faint so I'm not going to tell you we
22:25
need you here live on air uh I want
22:28
break down some of these lyrics if you
22:30
don't mind lyrical breakdown
22:33
okay I don't get it what exactly don't
22:36
you get breaking down the lyrics you may
22:39
not understand what the hell did you
22:41
just say it's the lyrical breakdown I
22:43
can break it down like whatever you want
22:46
un Sway in the morning sometimes you got
22:48
to ask that question this is one of my
22:51
favorite songs U well not even I don't
22:52
like using the word favorite but this is
22:54
a song that hit me landed well on me um
22:57
in evidence too is another one of those
22:59
I just the way the song evidence I'm
23:00
going astray but that the way evidence
23:03
feels MH uh when I hear it it almost
23:07
makes me feel like I'm going into a
23:08
meditative State yes but this song is
23:10
called can't go back don't care if my
23:12
brain keeps saying can't go back no I
23:14
don't care if my veins keep saying can't
23:16
go back when there's something pulling
23:19
can't go back can't go back yeah can't
23:21
go back can't go back but then it all
23:23
gets frozen can't go
23:25
back um I don't know the span if that's
23:28
Spanish or um Mach I don't know yeah
23:32
it's French Oh that's come on come on
23:34
come
23:36
on what does that mean machine it's like
23:41
I guess it's asking like this time even
23:43
exist the time machine or time doesn't
23:45
exist time doesn't exist does time exist
23:49
the verse verse this is what I want to
23:51
go into Spirit been looking for some
23:54
evidence that line right there where
23:57
were you at when you wrote that where
23:59
did that come from was that from your
24:01
personal state of mind yeah if we're
24:04
getting into it I guess um it was me
24:07
just being honest I guess um very honest
24:10
with my with myself and I was actually
24:13
talking to my brother um and he was
24:17
saying that you know my you know
24:19
actually my my mother passed
24:21
away and he was saying I haven't had any
24:25
contact or just talking about sort of
24:27
metaphysical kind of yeah signals and
24:30
sometimes feeling like you're a bit of a
24:33
maybe there's having maybe like an as
24:35
exential I wouldn't say crisis but a
24:37
moment of like trying to sort of I guess
24:41
connect with I guess Spirits or
24:43
something Beyond um
24:46
and I guess you know talking about have
24:49
a song called evidence and you know
24:51
seeing that I lost my M you know losing
24:54
someone so close to you um and not
24:56
feeling their presence and wondering
24:58
where they are yeah um you know having a
25:01
child I suddenly had this really strong
25:04
feeling of my my mother yeah and uh it
25:07
was very kind of like wow this is this
25:10
is crazy this is like special and um I
25:13
guess I guess that's you know in the
25:14
song I talk about Eminence which is kind
25:16
of like I guess it's it's talking about
25:19
Divinity in the sort of material world
25:21
and it was just like a perspective I
25:23
thought was interesting and was kind of
25:24
speaking to me at the time so I I guess
25:27
Spirit been for that some evidence of
25:28
just in a spiritual journey just like
25:30
trying to cuz I recognize it's a part of
25:32
me that I need it's something that I'm
25:34
I'm constantly you know there's
25:36
something pulling me and I need that
25:38
bird side view because you know life
25:39
will kind of just chew you up a little
25:41
bit or you go from from day to day so
25:43
it's just and I talk a lot about flying
25:45
in the record and it's about sometimes
25:47
needing that Bird's ey VI to be able to
25:48
look back up forward around yourself I
25:52
love that man look Lord knows my
25:54
daughter's here she's having scent yeah
25:58
I've had some Joys and I had many wins
26:01
still look in the mirror like I found a
26:05
twin
26:07
beautiful and you speaking on your
26:09
daughter
26:10
yeah yeah I got to show you a picture of
26:12
my
26:14
daughter yeah we need a girl dad bonding
26:17
moment right now we about to have a
26:18
moment right here brother I'm sorry man
26:20
but that see I'm it's certain songs that
26:22
uh that land a certain way with me and
26:25
this is one of them let me find a
26:27
picture of my daughter oh but you said
26:29
it when you were saying that saa's
26:31
ability to tap into his own
26:33
vulnerability um gives everyone else
26:36
permission to do the same yeah so that's
26:38
my daughter Kei bro yeah man oh wow and
26:41
that's literally like his twin it's
26:43
crazy you see that so you see why I
26:45
relate to this song bro yeah yeah yeah
26:48
yeah if we weren't even born in the same
26:51
part of the world right or the same
26:54
decade yeah but we're here and you know
26:57
same time you know the same time right
27:00
um this is a powerful song man I I want
27:03
to encourage all our listeners to make
27:04
sure you check it out um let me get
27:06
Jamal on the line he been holding for 30
27:07
minutes Jamal go ahead he's in Jamal you
27:10
still there
27:11
Jamal I'm still there what's up what's
27:13
up hello you must really like SFA man go
27:17
ahead you guys talk to him man SFA this
27:20
is a true blessing to be able to talk to
27:21
you I've been a fan since 2013 when the
27:25
too much track with Dre came out after
27:27
that I jumped on to the Dual EP that you
27:30
came out with and it probably I was
27:32
going through a moment in time and that
27:34
track that EP right there just really
27:36
changed the way I listen to music and it
27:39
brought me wanting more to listen to
27:40
sample and find you know those different
27:43
albums different things you coming out
27:44
with so thank you for for for blessing
27:46
us with this new project we really
27:48
appreciate it and as I just dual EP
27:51
track or uh album what were you going
27:55
through during that time when those my
27:57
favorite track on there is indecision
27:59
and the can't get close uh track what
28:01
were you going through during in you
28:03
know what was that 10 game that made you
28:05
write that
28:06
album I wrote a lot of that in at my
28:09
mom's house in in my in the bedroom um
28:13
and I guess I was a young adult sort of
28:15
going going through you know growing
28:17
pains and you know as continually am but
28:21
um yeah a lot of it as I said a lot of
28:23
the time I write music from an intuitive
28:25
space and but always take me back to
28:28
kind of crazy times where like can't uh
28:31
can't get close I I wrote that all in in
28:35
bed with a with a microphone I did
28:39
everything had my laptop had my sound
28:41
card just in the bed pillow
28:44
duve um in my mom's you know mom's house
28:49
and yeah it was a lot of self-discovery
28:51
going on um a lot of change going on I
28:54
guess I was kind of getting into you
28:56
know the music game more ser seriously
28:57
and you know flying away and you know
29:01
discovering you know the world and
29:03
coming back and I guess processing those
29:06
things and things were going on at the
29:08
time as well um with family so yeah it
29:11
was all kind of just um yeah I always
29:13
feel like music for me has been a bit of
29:14
like a a Sonic photo I say a Sonic photo
29:18
essay hey hey Jamal thank you man make
29:20
sure you support the new project
29:22
okay there's so much we could talk to
29:25
you about we only got so much time but I
29:26
would love for you to come back I love
29:28
your tiny desk performance maybe we
29:30
could do something here we got a
29:31
performing Studio here too if you were
29:33
into that or just come hang with us so
29:35
we could talk and get to know you more
29:37
talk more about just a lot of music to
29:38
talk about we can't do it in 30 minutes
29:41
you know but uh you're an incredible
29:42
human being glad to meet you in person
29:45
thank you now when I listen to your
29:47
music I can listen differently that's my
29:49
homie right there that's my family right
29:52
there right you got you know you got you
29:54
got you got allies in US brother
29:56
contined success okay okay oh I really
29:58
appreciate it thank you oh absolutely
29:59
he's performing tonight at Wester halls
30:02
and tomorrow night is sold out
30:06
okay make sure y'all follow him uh SFA
30:09
at s m ha we going to end this interview
30:13
we can't go back anything you want to
30:15
say um I just want to say like I'm
30:17
overwhelmed thank you for the love it's
30:19
been a pleasure talking to you and
30:21
hearing you speak and watching you guys
30:23
in your element um yeah no it's been
30:25
beautiful and thank you to anyone who's
30:26
been listening supporting the music it
30:28
means a lot there it is sord thank you
30:33
brother
#Arts & Entertainment