When an artist has a Facebook photo album full of tattoos featuring their lyrics…trust in their talent.
Seattle-based Sadistik writes honest, moving tracks laced with brutal reality and relatable pain that his fans feel compelled to permanently wear on their bodies. It’s no surprise this crafty wordsmith is working on a book of poetry.
Sadistik’s style is unique to the core–with impressively instrumental production partnerships and wisely unconventional song structure. If I was forced to place the emcee into an underground hip-hop subgenre, it would be “Minneapolis.” The Twin Cities are home to not only much of the elite Rhymesayers roster, but many of Sadistik’s most frequent collaborators. He recently played a show with the Doomtree collective here in Seattle, was invited to perform at Eyedea’s memorial service, and just released Prey for Paralysis with emcee Kristoff Krane (who was part of Eyedea’s improv act Face Candy).
Thankfully, Sadistik remains a Northwesterner. By working with heavy hitters such as Cage, Eyedea, Mac Lethal, and Sage Francis he’s proved that it’s about where you’re going and where you’re from… Plus he’s got a girlfriend and a Rottweiler here in Sea-town.
Check out Sadistik’s answers to this tough We Out Here quiz:
What’s the first thing you would do if you won the lottery?
How big would the lottery be? I would probably pay off my house and then offer the rest to David Lynch to shoot the weirdest music video he could possibly think of.
Who is your best friend?
A few people come to mind when you ask that question… The first of which is my father. My dad and I had a really close relationship. Unfortunately he passed away a few years ago, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s still my best friend. I’m also really close to my older brother, my girlfriend, Kristoff Krane, and my Rottweiler, Kubrick.
Kristoff Krane is dope. How has Prey for Paralysis been received?
I think it has pretty much been received how we expected it to be. A lot of people love it, some people aren’t into it or don’t get what we were going for, and most people want it to be longer. I think more people are slowly coming around to it and it’s building a little cult-like audience lately. Musicians seem to be the biggest fans of it, though.
Who is your favorite emcee presently and of all time?
I would say that my favorite emcee at the moment is probably Ceschi. His style has grown on me so quickly. I love how versatile he is and how he can deliver his message so obviously without being too simple. I never like things to be too simple, it gets boring to me. I would say my favorite emcee of all time is Eyedea. I think being a friend of his and seeing him and his process, even if it was just a little bit, really magnified my appreciation for how brilliant he was. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Sage Francis and Cage as being big influences on me as well.
Tell me a little bit about Flowers for my Father.
Flowers for my Father is my solo album that I’m nearly finished with. This is the true follow-up to The Balancing Act in the sense that there is nobody else making any decisions on this record but me. I was closer to my father than anybody else in my life and he passed away unexpectedly about four years ago. This is something that I haven’t been able to really address in my life, let alone in any artistic way. So, this is basically my dedication to my father, as kind of an update on what has happened in my life since he left. I’m working with some really incredible producers including Blue Sky Black Death, Kno from CunninLynguists and Eric G. from 9th Wonder’s Soul Council; and I have a few guest features with some of my favorite artists as well. I think this record is a slightly new, evolved direction for me and I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited about anything I’ve made before.
Can’t wait to hear it. Is there a tentative release date?
I can’t give a release date yet because then I’ll have to be held accountable. The only thing I’m willing to be accountable for right now is that I think this is going to be my best record to date.
We have a company picnic every summer, are you okay with bringing a dish?
Ah man, I’m a horrendous cook. I self-handicap when it comes to making food so people usually just do it for me because I’m lazy. I’d honestly be the guy that brought a case of PBR and a pizza or something.
Would you rather have a 3-inch nose or a 3-inch penis?
Definitely a 3-inch nose. I’m pretty sure I could manage to get laid with that, the latter not so much.
Boxers or briefs?
Briefs.
Fill in the blank: People would be surprised to find out I…
Have a sense of humor. I think some people get this idea from my music that I’m a very dark and brooding person when that isn’t really the case. I certainly have sides of me that are like that, but those aren’t usually the sides that I expose when I’m around others, especially strangers. I’m actually a really boisterous and sarcastic person in real life. I think some people get taken off guard once they see that. I’m usually pretty outgoing and warm with a really rude sense of humor.
I’m pretty sure we both love A Clockwork Orange. Should we split a fifth and watch it together?
That’s a regular day of the week for me, you have no idea. I have an enormous painting of Alex from A Clockwork Orange as the centerpiece to my living room that I commissioned my mother to paint for me (she’s an artist) with about 500 horror and cult movies surrounding it. I’m a complete nerd for that shit. My dog is named Kubrick if that gives you any idea of how much I love that film.
What is your favorite thing about/place in Seattle?
I absolutely love Seattle. I love that it’s big enough to stay interesting and moving, but it’s small enough where I never feel too overwhelmed by it. Contrary to popular opinion, I actually really like the usually grey weather as well and I think the Northwest is the prettiest part of this country. Seattle has a great art and music scene as well. I don’t know, I guess I just feel like it fits me is all.
Special thanks to Sadistik for his time and assistance! Be sure to check out www.sadistikmusic.com for all things Sadistik, and keep an eye out for shows around the PNW and new music. #outhere206 boy!