Chase: “I think some people might be surprised to hear this, but you’re actually a classically trained musician aren’t you?”
Saukrates: “Yes. My main instrument is the violin. I grew up playing that in orchestra since I was about 6 or 7 years old. I picked up the upright bass for some of the summers. Ya know, string instruments, the electric bass, but then also picking up on percussion and keyboards. So, I do multi-task in the studio.”
Chase: “In your video, ‘Money or Love’ you’re playing a guitar and you’re actually playing that because some people front in music videos and just pretend to play stuff.”
Saukrates: “Well, I’m no Lenny Kravitz, ya know? I’m no Peter Frampton, I ain’t crazy on the guitar. I just knew those couple of chords and went ahead with it but when it comes to the real deal, I depend on my musicians. I depend on my band to knock that stuff out because their incredible.”
Chase: “So we all know the 4 elements of hip-hop. How many of them do you do?”
Saukrates: “I rap and make the beats but that’s about it. I’m a visual artist as well but I don’t do graff. I used to battle Eddie from Barenaked Ladies up at music camp. Those were the days of the running man. I don’t break but I rap and I produce and I truly live this rock and roll life. This is all I do. It’s not like I’m running to punch a clock 9 to 5 while I’m doing this thing. This is what I do, so I say I even live it a little more that those who supposedly do all 4 elements because I’m doing it all day, every day.”
Chase: “That’s awesome that you’ve achieved enough success that you’re able to do that. A lot of artists in general, the underground hip-hop guys we’ve talked to on the show regularly, have jobs, ya know? And they do this with all their money and all their heart but they have to go flip burgers or do something stupid and you just get to live music so that must be awesome.”
Saukrates: “It is, but I got a son too. My son is about to turn 10 years old and feeding a little mini-you is not cheap either. You gotta manage yourself differently when you’re on the run like me.”
Chase: “On the run, cool. So, if I was to raid your MP3 player or you car, what kind of songs would I find in your deck? Who you listening to?”
Saukrates: “I get into the classics, man. I don’t buy a lot of new stuff. But I’m a huge Rapheal Saddiq fan, D’Angelo, ya know, a lot of soul. Bill Withers, Quincy Jones, Dr. Dre’s catalogue, OutKast’s catalogue. I keep a good mix of stuff. I just picked up EPMD’s Strictly Business. So, I’m a throwback guy.”
Gamma Krush: “If you had to pick one OutKast album, what would it be?”
Saukrates: “Probably Aquemini when they really started showing more colour, ya know what I mean? But I love all of their work. I love the last thing they did with the split album, even up to the last singles with Royal Flush and all them joints. I’m just a huge fan.”
Chase: “Very, very cool. Let’s play another track and then come back to wrap this up. I want to play ‘The Search’ because we’ve talked about Drake already. I want to play that one and we’ll come back and talk about that. So this is ‘The Search’”
Gamma Krush: “Produced by Rich Kidd.”
Chase: “Saukrates featuring Drake or Drake featuring Saukrates.”
Saukrates: “Either way.”
Chase: “Either way. Alright Gamma Krush, spin the track and we’ll be right back.”
Chase: “What was it like working with Drake?”
Saukrates: “It’s cool as hell. we’ve known each other for years. I knew them when they were coming up, before the turned twenty. You know, him, Boi 1da, D-10, the team. I brought Drake into the studio and introduced him to 40, my homie Noah Shebib, who came up and learned a whole lot from being an intern with us. So it’s practically family man. Our roots are tight. By the time we got to that song in the studio, we’d already gone through four or five songs and had found a working chemistry where we just get in there and have fun. So, it’s always a good time in the studio with my little brother Dreezy.”
Chase: “It seems you have developed a whole family of artists because you’ve worked with Redman several times, Nelly Furtado, and tons of people. Is there anybody you haven’t collaborated with yet that you’d really like to?”
Saukrates: “OutKast is one. That would be great. Me and S-Roc from Brassmunk, we wrote some music that is supposed to end up on the new Big Boi record. So we’ll see if and when that comes out. Boy 1da did the beat so that’s gonna be cool once that hits the street. I’d really like to do a record with Raphael Saddiq. I have a couple that might end up on the new Xzibit album so to get with him on a record again would be great.”
Chase: “Speaking of Xzibit. I notice that he just got his name back on Twitter because somebody else had his name on there. And you’re pretty active on Twitter but you don’t have your name. You’ve got your nickname you use for Twitter, Big Soxx.
Saukrates: “That’s right. A man of many names.”
Chase: “Do you like that moniker better than Saukrates.”
Saukrates: “They all work. I got about 4 or 5 or 6 different names and they all work.”
Gamma Krush: “At first though, it was mad confusing with ‘The Underground Tapes,’ because the liner notes mentioned Big Sox as the producer and Saukrates was on the cover. I was like, ‘Oh, it’s Sox just spelled differently.”
Saukrates: “Like Chicago White Sox. But there was not confusion.”
Chase: “Gamma Krush thought you were two different people.”
Saukrates: “It’s like Puff Daddy, P Diddy, Diddy, ya know? It’s innovation. People grow, nicknames follow, ya know what I mean? So, get familiar.”
Chase: “Are you enjoying being on Twitter?”
Saukrates: “Totally. It’s a great way to stay in touch with fans. It’s a great way to get people familiar with new material and keep them buzzing about what’s going on. It’s instant. That’s a great thing about the way the game has changed.”
Chase: “Yeah. It’s completely different than what it was back in ’94 when you first came out. And I’m wondering if then were now, whether you’d be like superman right now, you’d just be everywhere, all over the place, like Drake, instead of taking this long to get to where you are.”
Saukrates: “I mean, don’t get it twisted. It hasn’t just been rising, rising, rising. It’s peaks and valleys, ya know what I mean? Peak in popularity, go back to the studio, get some more work done, come back out, peak in popularity, get some more work done, hit the road with Nelly Furtado, go everywhere on the planet, ya know what I mean? It’s cycles. Young Drizzy is in his first cycle right now and it’s going great for him but he’s gonna have more cycles throughout his career as well. So don’t be acting like it’s trickling and it’s just been this slow rise. It’s been up and down, up and down, the rollercoaster ride that this game is.”
Chase: “Yeah, I guess that goes back to what you said in ‘Hot Like Summer’ when you were talking about the trials and tribulations because there has been plenty there. So that makes sense.”
Saukrates: “That’s right.”
Chase: “Starting from Scratch just did a tribute to you, a tribute set. That was so cool to see because I’ve been telling Gamma Krush this for a while, that we should be doing this more often. We should pay tribute and homage to the MCs while they’re still here because as soon as they die, Big L tributes like crazy. Big Pun tributes like crazy, right now it’s Guru tributes like crazy, and I saw a Sox one and it was like, ‘Uh-oh, he didn’t die did he?”
Gamma Krush: “I’m way ahead of you. I’ve done tribute sets for people who are still alive.”
Chase: “You just did one for A Tribe Called Quest so that was cool.”
Gamma Krush: “It’s the 20th anniversary of their first album.”
Chase: “Yeah, so it’s cool to see that Saukrates has a lot of fans, a lot of support, a lot of people on Twitter, a lot of people looking forward to the new album ‘Season One,’ myself included. So hopefully we’ll see you swinging through Hamilton soon so we’ll see the new show.”
Saukrates: “We gotta take the tour through Hamilton this summer. Come on out! Keep your eyes and ears peeled and pay attention for when we come to your city to rock the house.”
Chase: “Alright well thanks a lot. It’s been an honour and a privilege sitting down with you, talking to you, and playing your new stuff. We gotta play some more of your old stuff because it’s still golden.”
Saukrates: “Alright, well thanks for having me.”
That was it. If you download the podcast, you can hear Gamma Krush spin some more classic material from Saukrates. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast too because we bring you the best in underground hip-hop each and every week at DOPEfm. Thanks for tuning in. Peace.
That was it. If you download the podcast, you can hear Gamma Krush spin some more classic material from Saukrates. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast too because we bring you the best in underground hip-hop each and every week at DOPEfm. Thanks for tuning in. Peace.
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