THE 5TH ELEMENT: Shabaam Sahdeeq
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK | SHABAAM SAHDEEQ
INTERVIEW INNOCENT?
VALIDATED: Being from Brooklyn, New York, what’s your earliest memory of Hip Hop culture?
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: My earliest memory—and I always say this—is, walking through the train station with my moms, and seeing big ass burners on the trains, man. Pulling up into the station. Word up. And seeing big ass colorful pieces on the trains, it’s like, whoa! That was my introduction to Hip Hop, it wasn’t the music at first, it was more the art, you dig what I’m saying? And then, I got curious from there. But that’s my earliest recollection of Hip Hop, like, you know, five, six years old, walking through the train stations and seeing those big ass pieces, man. DONDI and all these artists, Scheme, etc.
VALIDATED: Dope, dope. So, how did you eventually get your start as an MC?
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Well, you know, when you’re young, you dabble with all of the elements, you know what I mean? I dabbled with break dancing. Of course, I did the art, that was non-stop? But we used to always get together in my boy’s basement, and break dance on the linoleum.
VALIDATED: Yeah.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: You know, the pieces and shit, we used to put it together, tape it together, and we used to have a piece where anybody would be spinning on their back, whatever. But the freestyles always came in - in between that. So, beats would come on, or whatever breaks, and dudes would start freestyling, and that was my introduction into MCing. And I have one or two friends that were super, super, nice. They made me want to take it seriously and start writing, you know? I remember one time going to a barbecue and one of those friends… Everybody was rhyming, he burst out the ILL rhyme and crushed everybody’s shit. That right there, made me hype, like, “Oh! I can do that.” You know? Yeah.
VALIDATED: Your name, Shabaam Sahdeeq, to some people, that’s your MC name, they don’t know if that’s your government—like, you want to talk about?
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: No, it’s not my government, it’s more of an attribute. when I was coming up, it was fly to be either Muslim or 5%, or whatever, so I picked the righteous name. And it was really given to me, you know what I’m saying? Because Sahdeeq, means true friend, or speaker of the truth in Arabic. And Shabaam, I pronounce it Shabam, in Hebrew, it was supposed to mean righteous. So, I just smashed them together, I put it together, you know?
VALIDATED: that’s dope. what else can you tell us about Shabaam Sahdeeq as an artist, as a person. Because I know you dibble and dabble with everything.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Well, I’m an entrepreneur, you know what I mean? I’m an artist, I’m an entrepreneur, people say Jack of all trades, but I beg to differ because all my trades point in the same direction. So, I could never lack in none of them, because they all... the driving force is Hip Hop, really. I paint, So, you could connect that to graffiti, it’s an ultimate connection. I make music, I’ve got my studio, I do my thing, and I’m a barber also, which to me, it’s like the center of any neighborhood. That’s where the Hip Hop- the BARBERSHOP DEBATES go down; that’s where the freestyles go down, that’s where the big arguments about the people top five, all that shit go down.
And barbering is connected to fashion, which I feel fashion is the 5th and silent element of Hip Hop, because people want to look fresh, bro, you know what I’m saying? Since back in the day the Pumas with the big laces, the stylists were made, you know, like, “Oh yeah, he’s a Hip Hop head.” Now, anybody could put on something and claim Hip Hop, but fashion is still the main element, and you could tell, one of the main elements, and you could tell if somebody’s got Flare Style.
VALIDATED: Wow!
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: And yeah, man, that’s it, they all go in the same direction. You know, the fresh haircut, the fresh gear, the art, the music, the DJing, it’s all Hip Hop you know what I mean? And I own a barbershop, but like I said, it’s like ups and downs in everything. So, right now, I’m navigating, I’m maneuvering.
VALIDATED: Now, you used to do a lot of shit, like, for the Hip Hop thing, and before you left to move to the A, you had…
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Oh, yeah, I’ve been doing events. I had “It’s Alive.” It was like 6, 7 years running in New York, it was bi-weekly. Definitely collaborate with a lot of my brothers, and bringing people from different states, and a lot of artists on the come up.
VALIDATED: I think I met you through that.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Yeah, for sure, we definitely met at It’s Alive through MiC HANDZ.
VALIDATED: Yeah.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: MiC HANDZ is one of my bros, he was doing some showcases for PH, before he died—Rest In Peace—was doing some showcases, and you know, it’s a lot of different people, Doc, Toshi. Toshi was spinning with us at It’s Alive, you know what I’m saying? Before they started doing ‘Rap the House.’ So, it’s all family, man, trying to keep tradition alive, trying to keep it rolling. We doing some events too, me and Indigo Phoenix down here… Yeah, we did a couple of showcases for ATC, me and Indigo, we bought Ras Kass and some different people down. We were planning on doing one this year, but another shutdown looks kind of imminent. And, you know, different little events. Rock The House came to my shop last year for the heavyweight Wildriders tour. You know, just trying to keep tradition rolling.
VALIDATED: Yeah, so you mentioned about the COVID situation, outside of the obvious, but how has that affected you, not only as an artist, but as an entrepreneur?
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Man, that shit affects me in so many different ways. Before the COVID first hit, I had a 14 city tour hook up with me and Plus One. So, we had gotten deposits, started booking flights, shit was rolling, and then when this shit hit, it shut all that down. So, some of the plane tickets, we had to give vouchers, we had to give some of the deposits back, we wouldn’t want to keep people's money, it just shut down the whole stream of income. The same thing with the shop. I started sneaking people out in the back, and cutting their shit, but I didn’t really know what was going on with COVID. So, after a while, I had to fall back, even sneaking people in the back, because a couple of barbers I know, died, you dig what I’m saying?
VALIDATED: Yeah.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Like Stezo, they used to be done with EPMT, he’s a barber in Charlotte, homie died, you know what I’m saying? A couple of people…A barber I know in Memphis died, I was like, “All right, let me fall back for a couple of months to see how that shit is running,” you know?
VALIDATED: So, with all of this shit happening, if everybody got a bucket list, if you had to choose one thing off that list right now, what would it be?
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Well, my list is what I’m trying to do right now, I’m trying to record a solid couple bodies of work that I could leave behind, you know? In case of my untimely demise, man. I’m trying to leave like a good 20, 30 albums and maybe like 300 paintings behind, you know what I’m saying? To solidify my legacy when I’m gone, that’s what’s on my bucket list, and that’s what I’m working to achieve right now. That’s it, no skydiving, none of that bullshit, you know what I’m saying?
VALIDATED: That’s dope.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: I’m working on it. It’s achievable.
VALIDATED: How has Hip Hop affected you since your involvement from the beginning?
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Man, since my involvement from the beginning, it’s been a wonderful ride, man, I’ve been able to tour the world a couple of times. I rap with jazz bands, you know what I’m saying? I did summer festivals in Europe, Finland. All over Croatia, and Germany. I’ve been able to feed my family off of Hip Hop, you dig what I’m saying? It’s the only… I bust $50,000 checks here, $30,000 checks here, you know? I started in the 90s when those checks was still, you know what I’m saying? Available like that.
They was cutting them checks heavy. Now, you basically got to have that following, and your shit already rolling for them to cut anything, you know what I’m saying? But it’s good, both ways. It’s good that I came up in that time, and I’m down with the internet era now, because we wouldn’t have been able to get together like this, before the advent of the internet, you know what I’m saying? It’s a gift and a curse.
VALIDATED: Wow, truly.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: But it definitely affected me in a positive way, man. I Love Hip Hop. I love to be able to express myself and feed my family at the same time, and meet new people and get creative. This shit is like therapy, you know?
VALIDATED: So, you were talking about earlier on in your career, a lot of people may not be familiar with, I came up in that era, so I get it. But what was the importance of RAWKUS Records?
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: RAWKUS was important, because they highlighted independent artists. I think everybody who ended up on a RAWKUS, you know what I’m saying, put out a lot of 12 inch stuff before they even got there. And it was just an alternative to what the major corporations was pushing at that time. It was raw Hip Hop man, you know?
VALIDATED: And I think, Innocent was saying earlier, before the interview, Eminem was on that label?
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Nah, but they was trying to sign him at the time when he did the song with me, you know what I’m saying? Because I’m like one of the first East coast artists to really put them on a record. I mean, of course he was messing with outsiders before he met me. But basically, Scam and AL brought him through when we did those records, and the rest is history, you know what I’m saying?
VALIDATED: What did you see in him at the time? Being early on, what did you see in him at that time, as an artist?
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Well, shit, my mans and them, they went to the Rap Olympics and Scribble Jams, and they’ve seen him in action, battling people, and all that stuff. And they came back with the reports, like, “Yo, it’s a white boy, he got bars and everything. You know what I’m saying, Scribble Jam.” I was like, “Oh, word.” They like, “yeah, he coming to New York next month.” I’m like, “Yo, bring him through.” I think he battled like a New York freestyle artist, they had him battle Karate Joe. And he just came through and did a bunch of records and, he was a humble dude, and he was nice as fuck. Not for nothing that joint, he got on with us, like, you know what I mean? He dropped his verse, everybody was like, “Oh shit!” Word up, he did his thing. So, you know, it’s not what I seen in him, I just was like, I just had respect for the fellow MC. When they brought him through, it just came together.
VALIDATED: I know I asked earlier before the interview, but whatever happened to The Closes?
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: The Closes is still—we’re still working, it’s just their old tracks got into some real life shit, like they kind of fell back a little bit and Red Eye working with this other dude named Stacks, they got a crew called RedRum. And they got some fire shit. We’re all just working, you know what I’m saying? We’re going to come back and do more Closers shit, probably in the near future. We just put a pause on it for a while, you know?
VALIDATED: Shabaam, what do you think is one of the reasons it’s harder for children lyricists to progress in Hip Hop right now?
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: I think because the audience has been dumbed down, you know what I’m saying? They’re use to hearing simple, dumb shit on the radio. So, now if you come with something, you don’t sound the same, you know? People are either going to accept it right away, or they going to reject it, like, “Oh, that’s some of that lyrical Hip Hop, like,” you know what I mean? It just depends on what you like. For me, it hasn’t affected nothing, because the stuff that I like, I search for it, I find it, I seek it out. And I don’t think a lot of people seek out music, they just take whatever the radio shoved down their throat.
VALIDATED: Take whatever they’re given.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: You know what I’m saying?
VALIDATED: I feel like now though, because we’re at a different—like, I feel like the era that we’re in now, it’s different, not just different sub genres than Hip Hop, but it's a different age group.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Yeah, and before, it wasn’t.
VALIDATED: Yeah, exactly, exactly. So, I feel like now, you’ve got somebody who—like you damn well may have a son, a father, and a grandfather.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: No, listen, my son rap, you know what I’m saying? And it’s just, there was never 40 and 50 year old people that grew up to Hip Hop. We’re the first, you know what I’m saying? We were born in 73, 74, right before the Hip Hop bus. So now, we want to listen to stuff, Hip Hop too, it just might not be the same Hip Hop that our sons listened to, you know what I’m saying? So, the older artists could still thrive, because now we got adult contemporary Hip Hop, you know what I’m saying…
VALIDATED: Currently I think a lot of people don’t see it that way, and I say the same exact thing. And I think a lot of times, artists…you’ve got so many artists that focus on being…I mean, who don’t want to be big time, whatever big time is in your mind? Like mainstream, Jay Z, whatever, whatever. But everybody’s not going to make it, the majority is not going to make that. I think people need to realize that it’s nothing wrong with being independent, it’s nothing wrong with you handling your business, once you learn or you can, or whatever. Because you’re still getting money.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Exactly, and you catering to a specific audience who want to hear that adult contemporary Hip Hop, is not wrong, you know what I’m saying?
VALIDATED: And I think that’s what it is, it’s just having that know-how or learning that know-how and knowing your audience, and targeting your audience.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Word.
VALIDATED: It is an audience out here who want real Hip Hop, not this shit they’re doing today.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Yeah, and it’s a way to get paid too. It probably ain’t like going triple or 5 times platinum, but think about it, if a thousand people spend a hundred bucks with you every go round, Make it a hundred thousand, you know what I’m saying? And that’s what some people make a year in their job, so it’s something to be cultivated. You could make bread, and you could still do the real shit, you know what I’m saying?
VALIDATED: Where do you see yourself in about 10, 15 years in Hip Hop?
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: In Hip Hop, I see myself still making music, touring, still dropping art pieces, that’s what I call them, you know what I’m saying? Art pieces for my fans, and cultivating my fans. Of course, I’ve got other plans, but Hip Hop is like, it’s more my lifestyle, than anything. So, I’m not really worried about money first, when it comes to Hip Hop, I got other streams of income. I do this shit because it’s fun, and I love it. The fact that I could get paid is just the cherry on top. So, I see myself still doing it, like I do it right now, you know what I mean?
VALIDATED: I do. You mentioned that your son writes, too.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Yeah.
VALIDATED: Do you all do anything together? Any music together?
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Yeah, we do a few things together, definitely.
VALIDATED: That’s dope.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: We plan on doing more, but he more on the trap side, he like trap, he like drill, you know what I’m saying? So…
VALIDATED: you’ve got a joint out with Starvin B, right, that shit is hot.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Yeah, that joint is actually old.
VALIDATED: Old?
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Yeah, I listened to that the other day, and I was like, “Hmm, that’s my shit.” I love that joint, and Starvin is like, underrated, like a motherfucker, like, you know? Heads that don’t know about Starvin B, they’re loosening up, you know what I’m saying?
VALIDATED: Yeah, I do.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: All his projects are super, super tight, and he sings all kinds of provocative shit, you know what I’m saying? I just came across that joint over there, and I was like, “man, fuck that, I’m posting this,” even though it’s old.
VALIDATED: Wow.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Still fresh. I heard you on that Bumpy Knuckles joint.
VALIDATED: Oh yeah, that’s tough.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Yeah, that shit is tough right there, and shout out to Bumpy Knuckles, you know what I mean? DJ NUT, I just got off the phone with him not too long ago. I’m just trying to stay busy man, you know, collaborate with people that I like.
VALIDATED: You fucking with Indigo, are you like Rugged Triad, what’s the deal with that?
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Man, anything my sis got going on, man, I’m a part of it, you know what I’m saying?
VALIDATED: Word.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Rugged Triad was some other dudes that she was working with, but I don’t know what happened with that situation, but I got my sister back. She wanted me to be part of Rugged Triad, I’m part of Rugged Triad, you know what I’m saying?
VALIDATED: I hear you, I hear you. Salute Indigo…
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Whatever she want to do…Right now, she’s executive producer on my album for me, I’m letting her pick all the beats, you know? Because she got a different style of production ear, and I think it’s going to be fly, because you know what I’m saying? It’s kind of like her style of beats, and I’m challenged on my pen. Yes, but that’s sis, she’s on the come up man, she doing her thing.
VALIDATED: Word. Speaking on you, and your art and everything, if I’m a new jack, like my son, let’s say, might not know about Shabaam Sahdeeq, if he didn’t know I knew you. So, if you had a project of yours to enlighten him on who you are, as a whole, what project would it be? And why?
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: I think it would be ‘Keepers of The Lost Art,’ you know, because before ‘Keepers of The Lost Art,’ I was on a long hiatus, I had a couple of mix tapes, and a couple of drops, but that album right there was like, you know, my first album all over again. it wasn’t my first album, but it was like my first album all over again.
VALIDATED: Okay, dope.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: I had like 23 songs, and I was going through some shit during the making of those songs. So, I think ‘Keepers of The Lost Art’ would be the one to showcase. Even down to the cover, my concept with the cover it was post-apocalyptic, and kids was digging in the rubble, and they found this little cubby hole, and they went in there and it was a bunker, and in the bunker, they found the beat machine, they found a treasure chest with a mic in it, and a crown, and all that shit-that’s what’s on the cover. So, I would say ‘Keepers of The Lost Art,’ and I won the 2014 Underground Music Awards for that, you know what I’m saying?
VALIDATED: That was pretty dope, I think...
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: It was just a good year.
VALIDATED: I think I was there; I remember that.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Jake accepted it for me.
VALIDATED: Yeah, Jake, yes.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Jake was twisted…
VALIDATED: At BB King, it was at BB Kings.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Yeah, Jake was twisted, because when I got the award, it was in two pieces, I’m like, “Yo, Jake, what happened?” I had to glue the shit back together. That’s my boy though man. Shout out to Jake Colombo.
VALIDATED: Yeah, Jake Colombo.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Yeah, he mastered ‘Keepers of The Lost Art”.
VALIDATED: Yeah, I see it up in the studio.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Yeah. He did another couple of drawings on ‘Timeless, of the Collection,’ which I’m coming out with that vinyl this month.
VALIDATED: I was going to ask, what you got now, what you got?
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Mad shit. Well, you know, I released a joint with J57, so that’s out right now. We’re doing a limited CD run of that, like 300 CDs. Then ‘Timeless, of the Collection,’ which is my 2018 album, we’re doing vinyl with this label out of Spain called ‘Hip Hop Real Records.’ And we’re doing a limited run of 200 pieces. So, just keeping it moving, I got the new EP coming out with Nick Wiz called ‘Cabin Fever.’ We released two singles, the one with the South Park characters and shit, the South Park videos. And then the next single we drop, called ‘Watch Your Mouth,’ with UG and Dv Alias Khryst, just trying to stay busy, bro. We’re trying to put out as much fire as possible.
VALIDATED: Word. So, where can the fans or the listeners find you out on social media, and your website?
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Yeah, my website is Shabaam-Sahdeeq.com. You know, everything is Shabaam Sahdeeq, really, man. I was taught earlier on man to keep everything uniform, so it’s not hard to find me. So, You go to Twitter, Facebook, THE website…
Yeah. So people won’t have… You know, when they google, they’re not going to have a hard time finding out what the fuck is going on, because it’s all right there, it’s all the same name. I’ve got the clothing line that I’m doing on ‘Marvial Apparel.’ So, I’ve got a website for that, too.
VALIDATED: I got a dope Shabaam Sahdeeq hoodie hanging in my closet.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Yeah, the black one, the early black one? With the tattoo letters...
VALIDATED: Yeah, exactly.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: No, yeah, I’ve got some new stuff man. If you go to Marvialappearel.com. I got a lot of stuff up there, and not only my merch, but stuff from my clothing line, hoodies, hats, whatever. You know what I mean? August 14th, we’re having a Lo Life barbecue and pop-up shop in RALEIGH, North Carolina. So, if you look on my pages…
VALIDATED: I’ve seen Sadat out here.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Yeah, no question, Sadat is performing, El Da Sensei, you know, they XL, they performing, and my man Low Vox, me, you know what I’m saying?
VALIDATED: I might try to pop down, bro.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: A couple of DJs…Yeah, it’s going to be FIRE man. You know, every year, there’s different Lo Life barbecue in New York, and Miami, and Orlando, Atlanta, North Carolina, Jersey. So, it’s different joints man, I try to go to as many as I can. But can’t make it to everything, but I’m definitely performing on the 14th.
VALIDATED: For the people that don’t know what the hell you talking about, when you say Lo Life, they might be talking about some bombs or something, you want to tell the people?
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Nah, the Lo Life, The legendary crew from 1988, man, boasters, you know, robbers, you know what I’m saying? Now we’re grown folks and it’s like a fraternity or brotherhood representing love and loyalty. So, you know, we do events, giveaways for the kids, pop-up shops, you know, trying to uplift the community, you know what I’m saying? From something that started out negative, now, it’s a positive. Pretty much getting a lot of press, a lot of looks. They used one of my joints in Raising Kanan, one of my old…
VALIDATED: Yeah, that’s dope, salute on that. Man, listen, that’s big.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Yeah. And then at the same time, they gave Lo Life a look, because that’s part of the history they put, you know what I’m saying? They put it in there a little bit, they splashed it. So, it’s a good look.
VALIDATED: Word, that’s a really good look, man.
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Shout to all my Lo Lifes.
VALIDATED: Any last words for the people?
SHABAAM SAHDEEQ: Yeah, check for the new project, ‘Cabin Fever,’ with me and Nick Wiz, check from our previous project of which I’m dropping a new video next week, ‘Precious Stones,’ with me and J57. Check for that vinyl, for ‘Timeless, of the Collection.’ You know, check for everything, definitely, everything is going to be updated on Shabaam-Sahdeeq.com. It’s kind of long, but when you find it, you’ll be pleased. It’s a lot of videos, and you’ll see all the flyers to my upcoming events, artwork, the link to my barbershop, the link to my clothes, and merch. Just go surfing on me, I’ve got a lot of pictures, a lot of good shit. Word. That’s it.