TheSource.com recently caught up with SAP a twenty-one year old multi-talented producer- rapper who’s a killer with the beat and can get his rhyme on; for real! He’s a cool, calm, collected Delaware native who’s worked with Meek Mills, Juelz Santana, Freeway, Mac Miller (#certifiedgold “Donald Trump”), The Game, Wiz Khalifa, Lloyd Banks, Beanie Sigel, Busta Rhymes; just to name a few.
His unique sound on the boards would eventually position him to where he would inked a production and record deal with Multi-Platinum; Grammy nominated producers Cool & Dre. Besides being a creative wiz behind the boards, SAP turned it a level higher by showcasing his rhyme skills on his mix tape #SurpriseSurprise.
Since the release of his mix tape SAP’s generating a lot of love from fans and artist alike which makes him an important artist to look out for in 2012. Check out this interview with the homie to see where it all started, from how he earned his name SAP to landing a deal with multi-platinum hit makers Cool & Dre.
The Source: Tell us how you came with the name SAP da Beat Man?
SAP: It was Sap the beat man, I started out with that when I was producing for certain artist. It turned into sap because I started doing the artist thing. Basically the name sap is an acronym for “Sounds of A Pioneer” and I have the whole “Pioneer” movement which stands for “Passionate Individuals Overcome Numerous Encounters Eventually Reach Success” it’s a whole movement we got going on out in Delaware with my homies. I have this guy name JM who helps me out a lot and he’s an up and coming producer he plays a big role in my creative process.
The Source: Indeed, so tell us how’d you get started in the music business?
SAP: My uncle had this SL program and you know that’s a program a lot of people use today to produce. This was years ago man and I just also wanted to get into the music business. So I would play around with it, you know make little beats here and there, there weren’t really good beats but I use to burn em’ on a cd and pass em’ out in school. I started getting good feedback and kept going.
I started taking it seriously when I heard my first song on the radio which was meek mill’s “In my bag” record. When I did that record I was like alright it’s time to go you know what I’m saying.
The Source: As a producer, who would you like to pattern yourself as?
SAP: Timbaland is my favorite producer, Pharrell Williams, Kanye West, Q-Tip, of course Dre is dope! I like Danja Handz, it’s like there so many people that I like, Cool & Dre of course that’s the homies.
The Source: How did it feel to get co-signed by two Grammy nominated producers?
SAP: It’s a blessing and a great thing on how stuff work. I remember watching them a few years ago they had built their studio in Miami and I was like “Man if I can get a studio like that that’ll be crazy”. The first few years I ended up flying out there chilling with them and work with them so it’s just like man this is crazy.
The Source: Wow, how did they discover you?
SAP: Basically DJ Young Legend he’s from philly you know, he’d deejaying for The Game so he has a lot of industry connects from that situation. Legend liked my work and was like “Yo I know some people I can introduce you to”. So he started pushing my stuff around and sent it to Cool and Dre. The next thing I know legend hit me up was like “yo dog these dudes want to sign you”.
The Source: What really caught my attention was your mix tape “Surprise Surprise”, what the process like putting that mix tape together?
SAP: It was definitely different for me you know what I’m saying. I got to see another side of music. I got to see what it takes to put together a whole project. It took me a little while because I was still finding myself as far as the topics I wanted to state, of course be myself and be original. It was a good look for me because it helped me to grow. I’m learning still so you know.
It’s fun making your own songs because you have nobody telling you what to do and I get to pick my own beats. The mix tape came out close to how I planned for it to come out so I was happy about that I appreciate that.
The Source: What inspired you to take rap seriously when you have this promising production career?
SAP: I was always a fan of rap a while ago before kanye [west] came out and I’m a big kanye fan. But I’ve been rapping before I knew about him as a rapper he was still making beats then. But when he started was rapping he was like kind of one of the dudes that made it cool to be yourself again. It wasn’t all gangster rap, so he was one of the first dude to break that ice in 10 years.
So when he came out that just inspired me to be myself you know. You aint got to sell drugs or shoot at people to be dope. That was the best motivation for me and as I got better at it I got comfortable enough to put out a project out.
The Source: Are you working on a follow up to “Surprise Surprise”?
SAP: We’re working on another tape, I think this one is going to be called the “Invite”. We’re going to drop that like late May. That’s going to have production from a lot of guys that’s buzzing and of course Cool & Dre.
The Source: So what do you prefer being a full time recording artist or a hit maker?
SAP: I think it flip flop’s there’s some days where I don’t feel like rapping right now let me make these beats. There are days where I don’t feel like making beats and start writing rhymes. I’ve got love for both of em’ but of course producing is my first love and my passion I just love creating sound. Even if my rap career takes off to a different level I’m still going to find time for producing.
The Source: So when you hear one of you songs hit the airwaves, how does that make you feel?
SAP: That’s the motivation to keep going man, that’s your approval that you can do this. Especially being from Delaware when I linked up with dudes like Meek and Mac Miller and to see Mac Miller song go gold and be on the billboard it’s like anything is possible.
Interviewed by:
Walford Guillaume (wallywallstreet)
