For the third volume in my project, I’d like to introduce an artist out of Yonkers, NY that goes by the name of Yemi Sauce.
One of the many beautiful things that occur when growing up with people is that you’re able to see how a person comes into their own and Yemi is a prime example. I have been blessed to know Yemi for the last 10+ years and have seen how our mindsets have shifted from the earlier days back in elementary school all the way through to adulthood. Having met at around 10 years old, it’s also beautiful to see how the core traits in people never really change. Ever since we were younger Yemi’s always been one of the most cheerful people I know. He’s one of those people that could easily get the attention of a room and this translated into his creative side as well. Yemi had always taken an interest in music and once he decided to start making his own, you could see exactly how he was going to get people’s attention. I’ll always remember how surprised I was when he played me his first song because from that point on, I knew he had what it took.
He even inspired me to get into music in my own right. I had never been one to rap but I figured with having a rapper in my circle I had to become a producer right? With each new song I heard he kept getting better and better, which only pushed me even further so that one day we would be able to have t
he rest of the world on notice. With this we also inspired another friend of ours, Eli, to start producing as well. We spent the entirety of the lockdown summer of 2020 simply creating, trying to get better each and every day.
Now having personal producers in myself and Eli, the sky was nothing but the limit for us. However as all things go, life gets in the way. Everyone has their own journeys when it comes to discovering their personal identity and it was about time that we underwent our own. This didn’t necessarily kill the dream at all, just slowed it down. I only mention this because of what it would do not only for me but for Yemi as well.
One night after a studio session my videographer partner, Kevin, and I were able to sit down and conduct an interview to start to pry at what this identity journey had done for us so far. As I alluded to in my own entry, everything boiled down to the simple question of “Why?”. Especially in this current generation, the intention of an artist is truly everything. Without the proper intention, songs are simply shots in the dark.
“So why do you do it?” We asked.
He answered, “Honestly I just like the way a good song makes me feel, that’s why I do it. Like when I make some shit that got people moved? That shit is real.”
Once Yemi said this, I knew he had to be included in this project. That, my friends, is true intention. It’s so easy to get lost in the new world nowadays, everyone wants to rap to make it out the hood and to get the newest of the new; but there are still people that are in it for the art.
In continuing the conversation, we spoke about certain goals that he’d like to achieve in his career. Of course there was the typical accomplishments that any artist would like to achieve, such as performing at one of the hottest hip-hop festivals in Rolling Loud, but when asked about career defining goals, this spoke to me.
“I like the idea of being remembered, ya know?… Like Travis Scott is not the best rapper of all time, but the way his fans view him? People view him as the Performing God, I wanna be remembered in a way like that…I want people to really be like ‘Yemi’s the best ever, nobody can touch Yemi.’ That’s what keeps me going.”
In our conversation, we also touched on some of the deeper topics that come with being creative. All of us in the room knew the feeling of making something and being afraid of mediocrity.
“You got so much power in what you say and how you move. If you really believe something, you gonna do it. For a long time for me it was a lot of self doubt, I don’t be thinking shit’s good enough, but it really do be good enough.”
Self doubt is a plague many artists suffer from, but through conversation we were able to uncover more as to how it’s slowly slipping away for Yemi. When talking about how he was able to accomplish this, we spoke about how support is truly key.
“Before it was just ya… I used to get mad sometimes and be like ‘Yo can ya tell me a song is ok?’ Then I remember when I started working and people started finding out I was making music, everyone’s reaction was on the same shit. ‘WTF, this shit is crazy!’ ‘You can sing?’ ‘Nah this not you.’ That shit be motivating me”.
“I’m just a different person from when I first started. I look different, I dress different. It’s growth.”
To be perfect in life is something that requires constant change, we must be open enough to realize that we are not perfect on our own. We as artists need to be able to absorb as much as we can, in hopes that we may one day be perfect in our own eyes.
Stream Yemi's most recent album, Live Fly Die Fly, available now on all platforms.
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