INTERVIEW : SAïK
Interview by : Sébastien Jobart
Pictures by : Benoit Collin
on Tuesday, May 08th 2007 - 17 886 views
Since we met him three years ago at the Jamaican Sunrise, when he was accompanying Admiral T on tour, young Saïk has grown up a lot. This young hope of French-language dancehall, supported by Admiral T and Don's Music, the label of Don Miguel, who has taken him under his wing, is on the eve of releasing his first album, made up exclusively of new tracks. A conversation.
Reggaefrance / Your first album "Face à la réalité" is out this week. What frame of mind are you in?
Saïk / Right now I'm pretty cool, but I'm still a bit stressed about the release. I'm waiting for the public's reaction. There's a certain expectation, and I've done everything so that they won't be disappointed. I'm waiting for the release with clenched fists. I know we've worked hard, for over a year on the project.
Was it obvious to you to make this album with the Don's Music team?
I've worked with Don Miguel since my beginnings. He was in contact with the KSS, so I've always rubbed shoulders with him. It's also a question of trust. Why overcomplicate things? I've known Miguel for a long time. He has already put me out on several compilations.
How did you work on the productions? Which team?
I met different composers: Scoreblaze and Frenchy did dancehall for me, Chin for the rap,
Fasty, a young deejay who works well and who did some crunk for me, Bost & Bim for the reggae… I called on each composer for a specific style.
So you wanted to give the album several tones?
Every style of music that I tried to touch. I wanted to turn to someone who knows the style well. I didn't focus on one person who would do all the styles for me. Here there are various colours.
The album is called "Face à la réalité": what themes do you tackle?
The album reflects my world above all. It's my first opus, I wanted to represent myself well. To show people properly a world that not everybody knows. I was brought up in a pretty rough housing estate in Guadeloupe. On this album I give my way of seeing things, I look around me. I'm facing reality, I talk about things as they happen.
Admiral T joins you on one track. That was obvious too…
He's my brother, we've known each other for quite a while, I knew him before everyone else.
Admiral T was often in my neighbourhood, because he lived nearby. When we started singing with the guys, I went to see him. We started doing a few sessions. Admiral sometimes took me along to his shows too, which allowed me to make my debut. Afterwards I did sound systems on my own. Admiral T is someone very important to me.
Do you see him as a role model?
He's among my musical influences. Leaving the Jamaicans aside, the person who gave me the most headaches is Admiral. Then there's Sizzla, Buju Banton, Capleton, they're deejays who gave me the rage.
One might have expected you to be on his latest album, "Toucher l'Horizon"…
Actually we didn't really talk about it. My album was coming out just afterwards, we had already done quite a few combinations and I was already on his first album… So we didn't really talk about it.
You started very young. How did your family react when you announced your wish to make music?
My mother always supported me. That's what gave me great strength too. She always said: "you can do music as long as you do well at school". She didn't stop me going to sound systems. Little by little, people on the estate recognised me, and she saw the positive side of all this. She even came to a sound system to support me.
How do you position yourself in the new generation of French-language dancehall?
I do my work the way I feel it and the way I want. I don't have a position, but a role: it is to speak to young people. I'm not a spokesman for young people, but I send out messages, and I represent the youth of Guadeloupe in some way.
Could the French presidential campaign inspire you to write a song?
Yes, of course. We live in a society where it's as if we didn't exist. That's what I see. We have no choice: we're forced to accept what we're given. We're told to vote. I urge all young people to do so, because we have our say. But at the moment young people are accused of causing problems, and all the other problems of society are masked by that one. People don't see what these young people on the estates lack. There's no communication, only confrontation. Yet it's the young who will make the future. This policy will lead nowhere.
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