N’Sayne – Q&A Interview
Tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from? How long have you been making Hip Hop?
My name is Jameson Allen. I go by about 10 different names, but the most known are N’Sayne and Carter J. I’ve been doing this since 2009, so about 5 or 6 years. Hip-Hop wasn’t my first love though. Singing was my thing, then viola, then the saxophone. I’m a music man. I just love music. Those experiences helped give me the ear that I have today for production and knowing how to vibe with the instrumentation in the beats. I was born in Flint and Grand Blanc, Michigan though. I’m usually in Flint more than GB though. Both places that molded me into who I am. That’s a good and a bad thing.
What influences you in making Hip Hop?
Everyone. Musically speaking, I’ve studied most of the greats from every era. But as far as influencing my style, Kanye West, Drake, 2Pac, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, and J.Cole by far. Everything influences my art though. Everything I see is something I could make a song about. The stories of everyone around me is told through my music. I put substance in every verse that I write. They’re all memories, events, and elements of who and what I am. You’ll just have to listen to some songs closer than others to get the picture.
Describe your music, and what separates you from other MCs?
I’m very diverse. I sing and rap. My music is melodic. It takes you to places that other artists don’t tend to go. I’m very open and honest with myself and my fans. I don’t lie or fabricate any aspect of my story and you can feel the passion in the music due to that authenticity. My music is flavorful, unique and entertaining. I maintain a standard of lyricism and substance while making entertaining music that people can enjoy listening to.. even if they don’t understand or even care for my message. My goal is to make great sounding music while staying true to Hip-Hop and to always appreciate my fans. That’s what sets me apart.
Who have you collaborated with? Who would you like to collab with in the near future?
So far I’ve worked with Elijah Waan, Lady Mack, Zehero, LanDo Skyy, K-Outlaw, Excellent Nonsense, Ben Schuller, Finesse, D.O.G, Shemy.. there’s way too many to name. They’re all great. There’s 100s of industry rappers I’d love to collaborate with too. But out of the artists I know and have NOT worked with, my sights are set on TJA, Vice Carter, G-S the DreaM, Ace Gabbana, Cassius Tae, Eiqu, BayBro, J.Sirus, TrackBoi, Reaper Reap, Austin Bond and DeeDrix. That’s just off the top.. but there’s more. I’m drawing a blank right now. There’s a lot more artists I like, but don’t fit the vision of what I’m trying to do next musically. I don’t do features for play play even if I love the artist.. it has to make sense and it has to feel right. I envision feature artists as the paintbrushes I don’t have when I’m trying to paint a picture. If they don’t have the brush to create the art, I can’t/won’t force it. I’d rather wait and do it the right way.
Your definition of “Underground Hip Hop”?
Underground Hip-Hop IS Hip-Hop. Every great artist begins here. Without underground fans, the greatest rappers of all time would not exist. This is where everyone starts and everyone grows from. It’s
where the unadulterated passion is before its ever tainted. Without Underground there is no Hip-Hop. Period.
Production wise, who are your influences? Who does your production? And who would you like to work with?
I’m not a producer, but I choose to make music over either airy and/or soulful production. Either that or crazy dramatic shit. Control, Lord Knows, Devil in a New Dress type shit.. shit like that. I’m very diverse so it’s difficult for me to describe it. But when you hear my work, you’ll get it. I love Kanye West production as well as J.Cole, 40, Boi-1da, J-Dilla, Rick Rubin, Mike-Will-Made-It, there’s a lot that I’d love to work with.
Any current or future projects you are promoting?
I just dropped No Windows this September. It’s an amazing project.. from what I heard of course. Everyone should check it out. But nah, I hope people enjoy it and spread the work. It’s different. Right now I’m working on my next album “Exit2”. It’s very different from No Windows, but it makes sense. It’s not another concept album, but it has a great theme and new yet familiar feel to it. My fans will love and enjoy it I’m sure, just as much as No Windows.. maybe more.
Can you give us a brief description of the creative process of “No Windows”? Also/ tell us a little bit about the concept and idea behind your Album Cover Art.
No Windows is about my life. It’s a reflective look back into my past. It was a long process, but it was easy. Every song is a piece of the story and it’s a linear thing. You won’t fully get the full album experience unless you listen from top to bottom.. but the songs stand well alone so you don’t have to to enjoy it. If you really listen, I told you everything, from my experiences with women to the environment I was in to my mind-state, even down to what I’d wear. You got everything. I really had to dig deep on this album to get my message across and do it in a way that made people want to listen. Every nigga has a fucking story. If you’ve lived, you’ve got one. And nobody cares about anyone else’s story more than their own. To make them care, it’s all about how you tell it. I think I did my story justice. The Tiger is my thing. It’s like Drake’s owl or Wu Tang’s symbol. That’s not the official logo, but I love saber toothed tigers, always have. So yeah.. that’s a part of me and that’s my shit. The paintings is something I don’t want to explain right now. It’s very deep and it means a lot to me and the story.. it carries great meaning with it. The only thing I’ll address is the little girl. A good amount of people have asked me what my relationship is with her.. why she’s white.. and what that means or implies. The irony of that is that she’s not white. She is nothing. If you look closely you’ll see that the girl has no face. She is colorless…blank. no distinguishable features to imply her race or anything at all. She’s just a girl. She is the symbol of a real person in my life though. Her race.. I won’t say because that doesn’t matter. That’s not what the album is about. If she’s heard the album, she knows who she is. And that doesn’t matter either. It matters that you all enjoy it.
Where can we find your music and info?
You can find No Windows EVERYWHERE. iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, DatPiff.. it’s everywhere online.
Also you can find me at…
www.soundcloud.com/nsaynemusic
Any shout outs?
There’s so many people to thank. Thank you to Ryan Arini for mastering the project and Matt Basner for mixing it, Leslie Smith for the brilliant paintings, Anthony Beaz for the outstanding Title Tiger Art, JP for taking all of my art pieces and touching them up to perfection, all of my guest artists for contributing to making my project great, to the talented producers who laid the foundation for my work, and finally to all of my amazing fans and supporters. I could do nothing without them and I appreciate them more than I could ever express. I do what I do because I love it.. and to make them proud. #NoWindows #Love
