TheBattleDrums.com

Many times people have asked me what type of music I make. And a lot of times people have tried to label me as a specific type of artist. Some will say SaintSoulja is more of a political and social issue driven rapper, he mainly talks about those things. Some will say, SaintSoulja is a conscious rapper, while others will say he’s a horrible rapper. All of them are correct in their own interpretation. Because when I read a book or watch a movie I have my own opinion on it. I might think that Alicia Keys’ new album “Element of Freedom” has A LOT of  political undertones but others might not think anything of it. So I’m ok with your interpretations, because at the end of the day, its only your interpretation and not everyone elses.

The way I see my music is as “Me-Music”. I make music for myself, music that I enjoy listening to, and music that I feel will have some sort of impact on the listener. A lot of times I will say things that can be considered controversial, and a lot of times I will say things that very personal. Regardless, music is just a way for me to channel my thoughts, my feelings, and my personal opinions. Theres a lot of musicians and artists out there that will make “socially conscious” music, but if you were to sit em in a room and try to ask them about something like “hey man, in this song, you said this one thing, can you explain what you meant?” and they would have no clue or they would make something up.

I spent quite a bit of time hanging out with Rapper Immortal Technique over the years as we got to know him better, and I think one of the most unique things I’ve appreciated about him is that after every show/concert he would end up engaging in discussions with random people from the audience. And I think that is phenomenal. Because truly THEN music becomes the medium for education. Discussions are healthy for the brain, and I think most important ingredient is to have an open mind for someone else’s opinions and thoughts. So if you ever come across something that I say and wonder what I mean, just ask. I’ll be more than happy to talk to you about it. I’m not saying I know everything about everything, because I most definitely don’t. A lot of music is made from pure emotion, so if I can’t tell you the reasoning for what I said, I will most definitely be able to tell you what my feeling behind it was.

Alas, I leave you with some bars from my upcoming remix of “I’m Beamin” by Lupe Fiaso.

Peace be with you.

“This is for the non-believers, now I’m cleavin through the hatred/ to make my image clearer I will go and re-paint it/ carefully plated, they servin up your food/ you can put me in a box but I will turn it to a booth” – ss

The concept for the “Window Seat” remix is simple: Its about being Misunderstood. You ever get the feeling that people just judge you based on how you look, what you wear, how you speak and your general behavior? And without having known much about you, they automatically make assumptions about your personality. Like for example, the other day one of my newly made friends at work asked “hey, you drink don’t you?” and I said “no.” She said “oh, I thought you did”. And with a little bit of a laugh I said “why?” She said “I don’t know I guess it just looks like you do”. (the conversation went on after that, I didn’t really think of it as offensive or anything). But later I thought of it to be very interesting.

I know many of times I’ve used references to Islam or muslims or muslim things in my music, and people have misunderstood that as me being Muslim. Or people that know I am a follower of the Sikh faith, have questioned why I feel the need to make such references. What they don’t understand is that I was raised in a small country next to Iraq called Kuwait, and that in America, Muslims face just as much discrimination as the Sikhs,  and Islamophobia not only affects Muslims but also affects us as Sikhs. So in many ways, I feel a sense of Solidarity with my Muslim brothers and sisters and I stand alongside them in our struggles.

So in the “Window Seat” I say things like

“I AM, Misunderstood man, they ask no questions/often, get salaams like Im Muslim/ which is Peace and I know we could use some/ but the race is human so why should I choose one?”

And what I found exceptionally beautiful at the end of this whole ordeal, specially at the end of writing of this song was put into my last two lines

“….but yo, Imperfections got a beauty of their own/man my God walks with me so I never die alone.”

Anyway, I can’t wait for this video to be finished so everyone can see how the music and the video all compliment the concept of being Misunderstood.

I think its also important to mention that the core concept for this song and video came from the last few lines from Erykah Badu’s Window Seat:

“they who play it safe are quick to assassinate what they do not understand. they move in packs, ingesting more and more fear with every act of hate on one another. they feel more comfortable in groups, less guilt to swallow. they are us. this is what we have become, afraid to respect the individual. A single person within their circumstance can move one to change; to love oneself; to evolve.” – Erykah Badu from “Window Seat”