You’ve been working on Sir Render for five years. I was curious about that because that spans your time before, during, and after signing to Def Jam. Could you talk a bit about the decision to go to a major label and how that influenced the music that came after?
I love Ways of Knowing. That’s an album that I will always love and appreciate. But working with Budgie was the first time I’d ever worked with just one producer, and I think the first draft of that album was much more in line with the music that I was making. And then there’s certain joints that didn’t get cleared, and we’re having to remake them. And then these songs are becoming big and I’m thinking, “Whoa, maybe this is an opportunity to really breakthrough and reach a new audience.” And I’m really grateful for it; I tried a lot of new things on there, but I just felt this necessity to return back to my essence.
None of it was in vain, I wanted to learn how the machine worked, and I definitely got to learn how it worked. It’s definitely not for me. I make music from my heart for the people that it’s meant for, and when it’s funneled through the computers and all of that stuff, a part of it dies, you know? Part of the spirit dies. You have to be content with that.
I remember my mom saying she met Marvin Gaye and they were like, “Yeah, I’m a singer, I’m gonna make music dadada” and he said, “Well, you better love it because it’ll kill you.” And just thinking about all the tortured souls of the music industry, everyone knows that it’s maybe not the most wholesome place. Although I didn’t get too engulfed in it, I had enough of an experience to know like, “Ah, this is not this is not the place for me.” Independence is definitely the way to go right now. The traditional record label setup is just, if it works for you, then it works for you. I know for me personally, it doesn’t work for me.
You and Budgie locked in on Ways of Knowing, which had a bit of a different sound. After you were dropped by Def Jam, it seemed like you had a bit of a creative or internal shift.
Nothing happens in God’s world by mistake, and things are exactly as they are meant to be. Like: grateful for Ways of Knowing ‘cause I would have put out something else. And Sir Render wouldn’t have come out when it needed to come out, and then we wouldn’t have gotten Memoirs in Armour and we wouldn’t have gotten The Sword & the Soaring. So I’m just content. I look up to wherever God is, and I’m just like, Thank you. You’re in charge. I’m just here moving the needle a little bit.
