Saiah

Saiah from Albany, NY is business! This hip hop artist is dropping confident lyrical statements all over beats and the state of New York and this September, Saiah hits Utica like a bomb. Get him in the Utica Music and Arts Festival!
Like a lot of festival artists, Saiah hopes to establish a lasting relationship with fans in the area. “I would love to come back to the Utica area after this festival. I love connecting with fans and adding to my extended family…They should probably know the best way to find out about me is to walk up and talk to me. I always like to meet and talk to both new and old fans. Listening to the music gives a little insight to who I am but you can’t beat face to face interaction.

I’m just looking forward to seeing what happens from start to end. Meeting the other acts, interacting with the fans, and everything. Plus, every performance brings a bunch of new memories and it’ll be interesting to see what happens during this particular one.”

Saiah’s latest release, Hidden Treasure, is available digitally on Itunes, Amazon, or any other major distributor. All links available through the main website, as well.

Saiah told me that he’s taken some time to review the history of the festival and considers it an honor to be a part of it. I can dig that vibe.

“I’m a laid back type of guy that just likes to have fun, but there’s also a side of me that is a deep thinker, so that comes across in my music. “

Saiah is an artist that will have a wide appeal. His lyrics are solid and he goes hard without being graphic. He talks about drive and focus as a path to success rather than violence or revolution, and his focus is music. His style is a bit laid back, but he flexes his ability to spit quickly across the tracks as well, especially in Turn in Up. You want to lean back in it a bounce a little. Oh yeah, he sings too. Icing on the cake.

He makes the most of his live show experiences and told me a little bit about that. “Recently, I’ve been on a summer tour that ends at Giants Stadium and all of the shows have been great but a few of them stand out more than others. I did a show at a club in the Bronx called D’Noise recently that had a great crowd and the live band really made it a hot performance. Then a little later I got up and free-styled with the other artists. It was good to go off the top of the head on stage. Every show is another experience that seems to stand out in it’s own way though.” I think you’ll see that work ethic and ownership of craft in the video below. Definitely check out the studio tracks for a clearer vocal, but you cannot beat the energy and presence in this video, in my opinion. He drops seamlessly back into the hook. Expert! - UMAFMELISSA-The Meme-Brain

Saiah has been in the rap game in one form or another for about a decade. It has been in the last few years that Saiah’s star has rapidly started to rise, growing from a Richmond attraction to an East Coast phenomenon seemingly overnight. It is on this wave of success that Saiah comes forth with his “Evolution”, a fourteen track tour-de-force that accurately describes the effect that Saiah’s album will have on the rap genre. “Nobody Remix” is the first track on the album, and Saiah’s flow is what will immediately get listeners to focus in on the track.

While Saiah can achieve a speed to his flow that rivals the work of a Twista or Bizzy Bone, Saiah goes beyond the work of each rapper by having a cohesion to each line he spits that rapidly weaves a dense, compelling narrative that is lucky enough to be listening in. “Break It Down” takes a different direction, keeping some of the speed of “Nobody” but converting Saiah’s energy into a club-banging hit that will appeal to club-savvy people as much as it does to the hard-line of rap aficionados. The arrangements, while oriented in a typical track-by-track way, show cohesion through the common thread of the clap/snap track that manifests throughout “Evolution”.

“H8” draws listeners in yet another way; the track has Saiah going forth and creating the harmony of the track through his flow. While there is a synthesizer line present, Saiah is doing double duty in the sense that the instrumentation is relegated to a distant second in volume. “Big Brother (Eyes on You)” is the strongest track on the entirety of “Evolution”, as it provides fans with each unique facet of Saiah’s style in the space of a track. The serious, issue-based rap is here; the dance-worthy hook is here, and the speed in which the lines come out of Saiah’s mouth would get any other rapper a serious set of troubles. As Saiah continues to create this new and exciting brand of rap music, I can foresee shows supporting rap luminaries like DJ Unk becoming a much more common occurrence, until that time when Saiah can hit up all the hot hiphop cities on his own. I believe that time is soon, so make sure to pick up a copy of “Evolution” and be the first on your block to peep out what will be the next big thing.

Top Tracks: I Don’t Want It, Big Brother (Eyes on You)

Rating: 8.1/10

Saiah – Evolution / 2008 Self / 14 Tracks / www.aprilfoolrecords.com / - unknown

Hearing Voices w/ JonBoy ( Saiah interview aug. 2006 )
Current mood: impressed
Category: Music


I am up bright and early this morning to interview a brilliant young hip-hop artist from Richmond, Va, by the name of Saiah (Zay-uh) Soon that name may be heard nationwide. It is the crack of dawn in entertainment industry terms, it is 9 am for those of you in the real world. For those of us in that are entertainers, and get to bet at about 6am, it is still the middle of our night!






Saiah, thank you for getting up for this interview. I will for say man, this is one full CD, with 15 tracks. The tracks are varied, from lighter almost comedy tracks, to very serious socially conscious tracks.



"Yeah, I wanted to put more tracks on, but my management asked me to cut it back from twenty tracks. I just want to compete with the mix tapes out there on the street, and I did not want people saying, Man, this is only 10 tracks for $10?, so I packed the CD as full as I could."



Saiah started writing poetry at a young age..."I was about 8 or 9 when I first started to right poetry. It was natural for me, because I was influenced by my father, who would read to me from Langston Hughes and other great poets. I really love right poetry and rhyme."



How old were you when you first started to Rap?



"That is a funny story actually. I have a friend, and when I was 16, he entered me in a talent show. He did not even tell me. We are still friends, even though he put me on the spot, and there was no backing down. I fell in love with the crowd reaction, and the fact that they loved my rhymes, so that was the start of my artistic career."



Speaking of your artistic career, I like your first track, "Back on the Grind". Do you have, what we would call, a "real" job, or are you a full time artist?



"When I wrote that rhyme I was pushing carts at Target! Now that is a real grind! Happily, I am now a full time artist with regular gigs, and I am working to push my record sales."



In listening to your CD I note the use of synth and bells, that are reminiscent of old school Hip-Hop, it reminds me of artists like "Run DMC" and even as far back as "Whodini". Was that intentional, or was it from a subtle influence?



"Im a little old school in my sound, because I like it like that. I guess it was unintentional, but looking back on it now, it may be because I listen to old school artists. I like Snoop Dogg, back before the "Fo Shizzle" days, and I cant my group, Tribe Called Quest and too many others to mention"











In tracks such as "Never mind" and "Tell Me", I hear a recurring theme about back-stabbers users and betrayal. Also in the lyric of "Never mind" I hear the line "My family tree is a man, and thats me." Is this a statement that you are a loner, or does it have a deeper meaning?



"When I first started to "make it", or find some success there were a lot of people that were never my friends before, that were suddenly by my side. Then there were the typical show biz friends that were just out for themselves. I have dealt with and seen some backstabbing, so this is from real life. I just hate the fake friends. I dont let anybody tell you that you cant do something"



"As for the lyric in Never mind, I want to clarify, because you are not the first person to say that; the lyric means, that I am close to my family, and I am tight knit, and I am not so trusting with a lot of other people. The next line after the family tree is the line plus all my kinfolk are the branches and leaves".



Thanks for the clarification, that is what these interviews are for; to set me straight, and get



the word out.



In listening, I also found the Hip-Hop version of a few love ballads. Like "Give it to you", "Chillin tonight", and "Baby Girl". Do these songs work with the ladies?



"Well first off, I have no girlfriend or kids, so I am in the game. I consider Give it to you and Chillin tonight are more sex songs than pick up songs. Baby Girl is a romantic song that I wrote when I was in a relationship, and it is popular with the ladies. I do a lot of harder shows, with a lot of dudes in the audience, so I do not get the opportunity to sing the softer romantic lyrics very often, but if there are some girls in the front, I will sing Baby Girl to them."



Paul Masson gets a few mentions, and seems to be your drink of choice. Do you sip to be mellow, or drink to get drunk?



"When I was younger I was out to get drunk, now I sip the Pepsi and Paul, and outlast em all. I feel that I will last longer that way."



In the track "No he didnt", you take on posers. While it is refreshing to see that Saiah is real, are there particular artists to whom you are pointing, or is it just posers in general?



"That was inspired by a rapper will remain nameless, someone that I grew up with. His rhymes were all hard, and I knew that his music did not reflect the truth of how we grew up."



"I also performed that rhyme at a club, where I followed some hardcore artists. They



gave me props, along with some funny looks, like, Was he talkin bout us? So that track has caused some funny situations, but it is meant to put a funny spin on the truth. There are too many posers."











Black Factor.



(Saiah laughs knowingly)



This is a track about black on black discrimination, against educated or non-thug young black men. A lot of black people were upset with Dr. Bill Cosby after he made his statements about education and accountability. Now here is a young rap artist that is doing the same thing. That is a brave stance, but do you find it controversial?



"Yes, it is going to be controversial. I recorded that track with the intent of educating. I did it with a touch of humorous level, with a serious message. It is tough, as a young black man, to be tough on black people, but the truth hurts."



"I agree with Bill Cosby. Beat the stereotype, educate yourself and take away the stereotype. Black people should not be judged by the ones that choose not to gain an education, but we need to change that with the next generation of youth. Keep them in school"



Back to the lighter side, I like what you did with "Phone Session". What a way to make light of a bad situation.



"In a lot of my music, I try to bring the humor to soften the message. At the time that I wrote that I was going through a similar situation. I had car repo companies calling me, and I had a care taken back. So I put it down in a rhyme about bill collectors and telemarketer calls, to make light of the situation."






So it is a kind of " Laugh so you dont cry situation", I dig it.



Then there is "Put it on my Tab" where you talk of living like the government, with no though of paying for what you buy. And even more politically charged is the lyric in "Terror", where you talk about everything from crime in the hood, to the Twin Towers, and Katrina. Is Saiah getting political? What causes you to be so outspoken?



"Yes, Put it on my tab is a playful jab at Government spending. Good catch."



"As for why I am outspoken, I was raised in church. I remember seeing the preacher speak his mind. That led me to be outspoken. In fact, many people thought that I would be a preacher. Now I am doing my preaching through my lyrics. I want to wake people up, so they will see the light. I am into this art, because people listen to my lyrics, where they were not reading my poetry. People seem to pay attention to my lyrics"



Well Saiah, I am a convert, and honestly, I am not a Hip-Hop fan, but I am a Saiah fan.



I encourage anyone to go to www.cdbaby.com/cd/saiah and then go to www.myspace.com/aprilfoolrecords And leave him a comment, and get updates on his performances. You can see Saiah live every Tuesday at Club 321 in Richmond, and every Friday at Club Hyper-link in Richmond. Send feedback to Saiah at CD Baby, and on Myspace



This has been JonBoy, Hearing Voices, for Locals Only Radio!!!!!

- Locals Only Radio

Isaiah Seward is a young rapper/producer who came up with a new album that offers 14 tracks of honesty. Saiah is his rap alias and he is a 26-year-old man who is extremely driven about what is important to him. REAL issues and REAL lyrics is what Saiah is all about and Evolution sums this up. The title of the album is how Saiah feels where he is now as a person and as an artist; the evolution begins.

I would label this album as Motivational Rap to get jiggy with because I feel it gives listeners a positive message and can influence them to do the right thing. The record also offers a cool-as-ice rhyme flow mixed in with clubbin’ hooks and funky, fresh beatz. So, blend together the fun vibin’, party-like atmosphere with direct and powerful lyrics and you get Evolution.

Track 5, “Down That Road” really hit a chord with me because of the major issues that he tackles on this cut. Saiah raps about everything from racism to even overweight children lacking exercise and hooked on video games. It is all TRUTH, which I’m feelin’ and Saiah wants everyone to REALLY LISTEN close. “Got love for all my sisters and brothers, not just of my color,” Saiah wisely said on one of his tracks. I think it’s great that this cat originally from Richmond, Virginia wants to make noise in a positive way—need more like him.

The last joint on the record, “21 Gun Salute” had sounds of a gun shot but in this sense it was nothing negative. Saiah said it best during the song when he rapped, “Thank God Mom didn’t raise me to be a thug, life’s too short to catch a slug.” This one lyric should be heard loud around the hip-hop world because of the ongoing violence in the rap game. With the help of Saiah and others, maybe the madness on the streets and on records can end soon.

With slammin’ beats and fresh rhymes that will make you stop and think, Evolution is an album to hear. And Saiah is an artist to watch out for with his cool vibe and powerful punch to our reality. I think Isaiah Seward connected with an upper-cut on this one and hopefully with enough determination can provide a knockout in the end. Definitely SKOPE out Saiah’s Evolution as it definitely deserves a listen.

- Jimmy Rae