The Nilotic Interviews Sage Francis
Nilotic: When was it that you first knew for sure that hip-hop and poetry was what you wanted to commit your life to? And how did this realization manifest itself?
Sage: I suppose like a lot of little kids I had dreams of being a performer. It seemed like a world without rules or responsibilities. All glory, no pain. I didn't really ever come to a clear conclusion that this is what I wanted to commit my life to. I've never come to that conclusion actually. The more I write, the more I perform, the more I work for the opportunity to keep creating more and performing more is how my discipline and obsession manifests itself.
N: Do you feel like spending so much time going to college and earning degrees helped you in the long run with your writing, music, and business? How so?
S: That's tough to say, because I did in fact sweat out multiple years of college. I didn't sweat it out with any particular career in mind though. I knew I was buying time. And, yes, that time was expensive. Too expensive. Wasteful really. I love getting paid to perform at universities now. It's amazing how much they're willing to pay out in a willy-nilly manner. Thank you. I'll take that. If I make as much money back performing at colleges as I spent on college then that's one of the greatest successes of my career. Anyway, back to the question. Do I think it helped me in the long run? Not really, no. But that's not to say that people can't do great things for themselves by going to college. I made the most of my time outside of class by joining organizations and doing a radio show. I was smart in some ways and dumb in other ways. Make no mistake about it. I didn't even know the order of months until I was in college so...ya know. I was a slow learner. Haha. College isn't for everyone, but for those who can freak the system then freak it. I'm most appreciative of the people I met, the friends I made, the poetry nights, and the radio station.
N: Was there ever a time when you felt like you wanted to give up on hip-hop? If so, how did you get through that?
S: I never want to give up the craft.
N: Mentally and emotionally how did you deal with the criticism of the part of your audience that didn’t understand you and wasn’t receptive to your work?
S: I accepted a long time ago that no matter what you do there will always be an audience who loves it and an audience who hates it. No matter what. And that doesn't mean what you're doing is great or horrible. What annoys me is people who only focus on the positive or the negative. You need to take it all in and remember that you ain't shit, they ain't shit, and the only thing that matters is that you're pushing yourself to express something that people like you will hopefully tap into. The people who can't tap into that...maybe they'll eventually come around. Maybe they won't. Maybe the people who can tap into it now won't be able to tap into it 10 years from now. The only time I found myself getting upset about negative criticism is when it looked like people were trying to frame me in a certain way before my art had an opportunity to represent me in an untainted manner. I don't really sweat that anymore. The most difficult part is over with.
N: Has the Strange Famous record label been as successful as you’d hoped it would be? And are fans embracing the new artists that you are giving opportunities to?
S: SFR is more than a success by normal indie label standards. But I'm a tough person to please. Ask anyone I've ever worked with. I am not pleased until every ceiling is cracked, and cracking ceilings from the underground is quite a process. I want the people I am inspired and entertained by to have as much support as I get or more. I decided to stop signing artists and focus only on those who are currently active within our roster. They are incredibly talented and if I can't get them the exposure they deserve then hopefully I can get them signed to a bigger label. There's almost no place for indies these days. That might be a defeatist thing to say, but if you knew what I've gone through over the past few years...the number of hours I've worked for free, you'd shit yourself. I don't need to run a label. I do it because I love my crew.
N: Does Strange Famous have an official media department that does music videos and films live shows of artists on the label?
S: No, there isn't an official media department. We're always on the look out for artists to commission and work with though. Most recently we used Kyle Harbaugh to do the "Earthmovers" video for B. Dolan and it's one of the most amazing videos I've ever been a part of. When I get jealous over the quality of work that's being done for SFR artists I know we're onto something good.
N: How do you find new artists to sign to Strange Famous, or do they come to you?
S: For the most part I signed artists that I came up with or knew through the years. There are a couple exceptions to that rule such as Curtis Plum and Dan le sac Vs Scroobius Pip. They were people who I discovered online practically by chance.
N: What is the concept/theme of your new album Li(f)e? Tell us a little bit about the record.
S: The album is brutally honest in a lot of ways. More than just "personal" but straight up honest. And that might sound like more of the same coming from someone like me, so I suppose what makes this one different than previous material is the style and song writing. There's definitely an anti-religious theme going on but that's part of the honesty I'm talking about. At this stage in my life I'm really sick of the influence that religion has on families, politics and the world. Of course there's also the different musicians and the fact that it's all live instrumentation on this album. That in itself is probably the most noticeable difference as far as sonics are concerned.
N: Do you think there is hope that Hip-hop can become more than just crack, hos, bling, phat rides, and Three 6 Mafia?
S: I don't believe hip-hop has ever been just those things. Even when those things were the most popular elements of mainstream hip-hop. It's always been much more than that.
