The Sage Francis Interview
Part II
By Kyle Eustice
Many Copper Moons ago, we posted round one of our interview with the mighty Sage Francis. Since then, the Providence, Rhode Island emcee has been circling the globe in support of his latest album, Copper Gone, which dropped this summer. At the time of the interview, he was still putting the finishing touches on the record. After repeated listens to the finished product, it's safe to say it's one of Uncle Sage's boldest effort to date. From frenetic album opener "Pressure Cooker" and the quintessential diss track "Cheat Code" to the incredibly poignant "Thank You" and heart-wrenching "Make Em Purr," he takes the listener through a wide range of emotional journeys in fourteen brilliantly constructed tracks. Sage may be getting older (aren't we all?), but he has a seemingly endless amount of creativity waiting to erupt. Check out Part II of the Sage Francis interview where he talks about Chuck D, signing new artists to his label, Strange Famous Records, and what keeps him going.
RAPstation (Kyle Eustice): I know Chuck D was on one of your greatest influences and you've actually been compared to him in the press before. What are your thoughts on that?
Sage Francis: He's incredible. He's by far I would say out of all the hip-hop I listened to growing up, he's remained one of my mentors, not a person mentor because it's not like I get to call him up and ask him questions. I watch how he does things and I always kind of wanted to call him up and be like, 'Can be your understudy? Can we just hang out for awhile?' [Laughs]. He's an absolute legend. When we played Rock the Bells, that's when we first met and talked. He approached me. I'm wasn’t trying to get in his ear, but he made me feel comfortable. It was one of the highlights of my life.
What goes into the decision when deciding on who to sign to Strange Famous?
Sometimes is like 'am I willing to take on this much work?' It can take away a lot of energy I need for my work and my career, usually if I'm obsessing over someone's album or campaign and how it can come together. We are a small label and we don't have many people working for us so we all take on multiple tasks. We're very reluctant to sign anybody. Unless someone comes to us with the perfect package and they have a lot of their own things worked out for them; if they're into the label and they have actual love for what we do and want to be included. All these things factor into whether or not we'll pick someone up. Even if they're the perfect fit, currently, with a perfect thing going for them, I probably wouldn't pick them up because I have an album in the works and I know that's going to take up most of our energy and resources throughout the year and then they would suffer as a result of that. I try to make sure that we have enough time, energy and resources to do as much as possible for them without it hurting anyone else on the label. We already have artists that will be with us forever, well unless they decide to jump ship. We work with people until they decide to go elsewhere. We're a family where the core members are always active. Me and B. Dolan, and other artists like Prolyphic who was the first emcee besides me that we signed. He's still doing stuff with us. Some of these artists also have civilian lives, a family, a job. As we get older as artists and as a label that factors in, as well. I care about a dude who is going to throw money and risk his family on a project where I'm not really sure if it's going to sustain his family. That's a problem for me. I'd be reluctant to take that on.
I interviewed Rev. Horton Heat recently and he said, "I'm probably successful enough where I could probably quit touring, but I have a whole team I'm responsible for." I thought that was very commendable.
That actually resonates pretty strongly with me. I could stop. I've done enough over the years and I've saved my money. I made sure my stuff was locked down. But we are a team and there are people who are reliant on this machine to keep moving. It's motivating to me. It's probably good that I set this into place so many years ago because if I didn't have this right now, I don't know if I would have the motivation to be like, 'alright, time to get in the fucking saddle again.' All the stresses, all the traveling and pressure, the good part is getting the love from fans, but it's not something that builds up in your briefcase. That is a moment-by-moment thing on the road and the rest of your life is breathing down your neck when that's happening.
Keep it locked to RAPstation.com for Part III with Sage Francis!
Sage Francis: The RAPstation Interview Part II
The Sage Francis Interview
Part II
By Kyle Eustice
Many Copper Moons ago, we posted round one of our interview with the mighty Sage Francis. Since then, the Providence, Rhode Island emcee has been circling the globe in support of his latest album, Copper Gone, which dropped this summer. At the time of the interview, he was still putting the finishing touches on the record. After repeated listens to the finished product, it's safe to say it's one of Uncle Sage's boldest effort to date. From frenetic album opener "Pressure Cooker" and the quintessential diss track "Cheat Code" to the incredibly poignant "Thank You" and heart-wrenching "Make Em Purr," he takes the listener through a wide range of emotional journeys in fourteen brilliantly constructed tracks. Sage may be getting older (aren't we all?), but he has a seemingly endless amount of creativity waiting to erupt. Check out Part II of the Sage Francis interview where he talks about Chuck D, signing new artists to his label, Strange Famous Records, and what keeps him going.
RAPstation (Kyle Eustice): I know Chuck D was on one of your greatest influences and you've actually been compared to him in the press before. What are your thoughts on that?
Sage Francis: He's incredible. He's by far I would say out of all the hip-hop I listened to growing up, he's remained one of my mentors, not a person mentor because it's not like I get to call him up and ask him questions. I watch how he does things and I always kind of wanted to call him up and be like, 'Can be your understudy? Can we just hang out for awhile?' [Laughs]. He's an absolute legend. When we played Rock the Bells, that's when we first met and talked. He approached me. I'm wasn’t trying to get in his ear, but he made me feel comfortable. It was one of the highlights of my life.
What goes into the decision when deciding on who to sign to Strange Famous?
Sometimes is like 'am I willing to take on this much work?' It can take away a lot of energy I need for my work and my career, usually if I'm obsessing over someone's album or campaign and how it can come together. We are a small label and we don't have many people working for us so we all take on multiple tasks. We're very reluctant to sign anybody. Unless someone comes to us with the perfect package and they have a lot of their own things worked out for them; if they're into the label and they have actual love for what we do and want to be included. All these things factor into whether or not we'll pick someone up. Even if they're the perfect fit, currently, with a perfect thing going for them, I probably wouldn't pick them up because I have an album in the works and I know that's going to take up most of our energy and resources throughout the year and then they would suffer as a result of that. I try to make sure that we have enough time, energy and resources to do as much as possible for them without it hurting anyone else on the label. We already have artists that will be with us forever, well unless they decide to jump ship. We work with people until they decide to go elsewhere. We're a family where the core members are always active. Me and B. Dolan, and other artists like Prolyphic who was the first emcee besides me that we signed. He's still doing stuff with us. Some of these artists also have civilian lives, a family, a job. As we get older as artists and as a label that factors in, as well. I care about a dude who is going to throw money and risk his family on a project where I'm not really sure if it's going to sustain his family. That's a problem for me. I'd be reluctant to take that on.
I interviewed Rev. Horton Heat recently and he said, "I'm probably successful enough where I could probably quit touring, but I have a whole team I'm responsible for." I thought that was very commendable.
That actually resonates pretty strongly with me. I could stop. I've done enough over the years and I've saved my money. I made sure my stuff was locked down. But we are a team and there are people who are reliant on this machine to keep moving. It's motivating to me. It's probably good that I set this into place so many years ago because if I didn't have this right now, I don't know if I would have the motivation to be like, 'alright, time to get in the fucking saddle again.' All the stresses, all the traveling and pressure, the good part is getting the love from fans, but it's not something that builds up in your briefcase. That is a moment-by-moment thing on the road and the rest of your life is breathing down your neck when that's happening.
Keep it locked to RAPstation.com for Part III with Sage Francis!
