XL MIDDLETON & YOUNG SAU  (August 2010) | Interviewer J-Double

..........................................................................................

Interview was done in August 2010

Questions Asked By: J-Double

.............................................................................................

Dubcnn: Thanks for taking the time to holla at us, let our readers know your resume and what it’s all about?

Young Sau: The name is Young Sau, I’ve dropped one album “Dagorilla”, been featured on a lot of mixtapes and albums. I sing and rap. I’ve worked with a lot of artists like AZ from The Firm, Sly Boogy, Kurupt, Dubee the Sugawolf from Thizz Ent, Mistah Fab, Turf Talk, Big June, Smigg Dirtee, Glasses Malone, Redrum from the original Bloods & Crips tapes, etc.

XL: I’m XL Middleton, I’ve been doing my thing independently for some years now, got several albums that I’ve released on my own & with a few different record labels in Japan. I’ve worked with Crooked I, Bad Azz, Sly Boogy, Down of “Lean Like A Cholo” fame, Young Keno, Foesum, Shade Sheist, a whole lot of other artists too. I’ve toured Japan & I’m definitely focused on my fanbase out there & in Europe as well as back home on the West Coast.


Dubcnn: Now both of you have a nice buzz on the westcoast underground, what made you guys decide to join forces?

Sau: We worked together before on quite a few songs, and we felt like our chemistry could make some dope ass albums.

XL: Another reason is that both of us push real hard. We’re grass-roots with it. So it’s a good move because both of us have our respective fanbases & now with this new album, we’re combining it into one movement.

Dubcnn: XL, your recently dropped the Middle Class Blues album, how has the reception been overall and are there any plans for another solo record?

XL: Yeah a lot of people tell me they relate to that album, that was the point. I know way too many people who went through the type of shit I was talking about on that record – losing their jobs, losing their house, going through divorces. That album was like a snap shot of life in 2008.

It was hard to make that album because I was trying to cover those topics & still keep it fun. I still consider myself a fun artist, a party rapper you know? Overall I think I did that, nobody that I know of came away from the project feeling depressed! We did a deal with a Japanese label out there & they re-released it last May.

I’m working on my next album right now. For now I’m calling it “The Hedonistic Album”. It’s gonna be a hella musical, party record. I’m talking live instruments, breakdowns, bridges, all that shit. It’s gonna be real opposite of “Middle Class Blues”, a real upbeat feel good type of album, because I feel like the West Coast is really missing that element. We too damn serious now, it’s like nobody’s allowed to have fun anymore.


Dubcnn: Young Sau, being from San Diego it’s been a minute since we’ve had a spotlight, recently we’ve seen Mitchy Slick and his exposure with Strong Arm Steady. Do you feel like you have a lot of weight on your shoulders?

Young Sau: Not really, to be honest with you I just do what I do. I don’t try live up to what anyone else is doing because I do what only I can do. What I strive for is to make good music, and if the fans feel it, then I think mission accomplished, the music should just speak for itself.


Dubcnn: So let our readers know a little about the joint album, what’s it called, whose featured on the album?

“There Goes The Neighborhood” is the album. Production-wise we got XL Middleton, Dave Moss, J Schon, Mike Towns, Docc Free. And on features we got Sly Boogy, Mike Ula, Rev, Black & Mild, Gangsta Gold Macnificent, Double RR, Adonis, Zoneiak, S-Dee, and Meni Ru.


Dubcnn: I personally feel that the culture out west has been compromised since its golden age with famed producers like DJ Quik, or Dr. Dre, what are your thoughts?

Young Sau: I just think that times have changed and the kids in diapers are now grown up buying albums and just getting into what they’re in to. I can’t knock it, im a fan of music, so I leave music to be music, whatever form or shape.

XL: Yeah, I mean, if you look at all genres of music, shit has gotten less & less musical over the years. You don’t need to be able to sing anymore, you can fix your voice with pitch correction now, so that leaves the labels to just focus on artist image.

So I think there’s a bigger picture outside of just hip hop music. You see that jerking music is catching on now, obviously the image they’re projecting is something that some people wanna see, otherwise it wouldn’t be catching on. And far as I’ve heard, that originated from the West, whether you enjoy the music or not. Another thing is, it’s not about being regional anymore, it’s more so about creating something that doesn’t sound like it came from a particular coast. So it’s hard to do that & still be original.


Dubcnn: Now I personally don’t have any ill feelings towards the South or any other region but I personally feel as though the ‘Westcoast’ sound has taken a backseat in the industry?

Young Sau: If you go a little deeper with it though, the original ‘Westcoast’ sound was really that electric Egyptian Lover type shit. I mean a lot of the funk the west coast adapted their sound from was from other regions. Roger Troutman for instance, a west coast staple and influence to our sound, anything sampling roger besides EPMD is considered a west coast sound, but Roger’s music is that hard gutter Ohio funk. I don’t think it’s the west coast sound that took the backseat, its west coast artists.

XL: Ever since the 80’s, the West has been giving people party music, in many forms. To me, that’s what we’re all about, at our core. Even songs that were about some serious shit. For example, take Kausion’s “What Ya Wanna Do” as an example. They were talking about some real street shit but the music was still upbeat, that type of shit would still get a party turned up if you threw it on. Even the “underground” artists like “Pharcyde” made party music, Del, Souls of Mischief, all of them. Maybe I’m taking the subject too lightly, but I think if we just start having some fun with our music again, we’ll get back on the right track.


Dubcnn: Young Sau, since your debut LP “Dagorilla” was released have your started on the follow-up, if so when can we expect to hear some new music?

Young Sau: Yeah the next solo ”Actions Speak Louder Than Words” is coming out a little bit after “There goes the Neighborhood”. We also got my album “Ringtones” with me singing all the hooks on each song of the project. And another collab album with 00Beez entitled “Monkey Beezness” all coming this year.


Dubcnn: Now both of you are multifaceted, meaning you both can sing, rap, produce. Which is your favorite?

XL: It used to be rapping; I started producing only because I didn’t have anybody around to make beats for me. But now I like them both equally, because I just love seeing people’s reactions when they hear my shit. So it don’t really matter which it is, long as I’m seeing that reaction, that’s what keeps me going.

Young Sau: Listening, of course creating any of those three are dope as hell, but listening is how you tune that ear.


Dubcnn: Before we get outta let our readers know how they can get a hold of you for collabos, etc.?

Sau: Twitter HOLLA!!

XL: Hit me at XLMiddleton.com & from there you can get all my other contacts, the YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, etc.

Advertisement

.........................................................................................

.........................................................................................