Sado Slim -Artist Interview

I am excited to get this interview started but before we do, I want to talk about where you are from. I see you are from Youngstown Ohio and you are currently living in Seattle Washington. I used to live in Ohio. What brought you to Seattle?
 First off, I would like to thank you for taking the time to listen to what I have to say. But it was music that brought me to Seattle. Living my whole life in the Midwest was difficult as an up and coming lyricist, especially in Youngstown where there is virtually no scene. And no one really comes out to support your music even if they have known you for years. That’s why I looked to other cities to pursue a career. A friend of mine was in Seattle and suggested for me to come out here because the scene was big and poppin’ off. So, I picked up and moved here in 2009 but took 7 years off from doing music when I found out I was going to be a father, my kids come first.

What inspires you to do music? What are some of your hardest challenges and most rewarding times working through music?
 The biggest thing that inspires me to do music is survival. I have been writing poetry since I could write and started formatting them into lyrics at the age of 9. I had an extremely hard childhood and writing lyrics was the only escape I had from my reality. It helped save me through all the years of abuse I suffered. So, when I say survival, I literally mean that.
 I think that my biggest challenge I face is myself. I seem to be a perfectionist and nitpick at all that I do. If I hear my vocal tracks and one thing is off just a little bit, I cut it and redo the whole thing. And now, with all the children that I have, its hard to record during the day, so I have to wait until the evening when they are asleep. Sometimes after a long day with them, I find myself tired and the feeling I had earlier in the day to do music isn’t as prevalent.

I dig your sound, hip hop mixed with some dark textures. Could you tell our listeners about your Chronicles of Sado series. This sounds like an important topic to talk about.
 The Chronicles of Sado is a 3-part series that talks about my life in chronological order. I may possibly release a 4th chapter a few years down the road, but I haven’t fully decided yet whether to do it or not. But each chapter of this series is a very essential part of my life and how I grew up. Chapter 1 is called L’appel du Vide, which is a French term that translates to “the call of the void.” It’s a phenomenon that happens when we stand next to a cliff or by train tracks where we have this urge to throw ourselves to our demise. So, this chapter deals with suicidal thoughts and depression. Chapter 2 is going to be titled Suppressed Aggression. This project has been the single most difficult project I have worked on from the writing to even the recording process. I am talking about all of the trauma that I have suppressed over the years. I mean, I am going as deep as I can with this one. I recently started going to therapy to help with writing and to help process all of this because I started realizing how dangerous it can be. So, this chapter is about the suppressed trauma that leaves you feeling angry which turns to homicidal rage. Speaking on this subject of suppressed trauma and mental health, this is important to know that mental health is a serious thing that needs to be tended to. Just recently one of my friend’s 1-year old daughter was murdered in cold blood by the her own father because he was deeply mentally ill and not seeking help. I started a GoFundMe for her because this is a tragedy that shouldn’t have happened, but she also shouldn’t have to worry about finances in this time of grief. If your listeners would like to donate, anything would help her in this grim time. Here is the link: Memorial for Baby Jane.

And I stress this that if any one ever needs to talk, you can find me on social media and personally message me if you need to get anything off your chest. No judgment and I will never invalidate your feelings.
Now that we have gotten through some of the darker things in my life, let’s talk about Chapter 3. I haven’t figured out a name yet, but I was thinking of going with something like “50 Shades of Sado” as a play off the silly movie because this chapter directly involves how I found love through my family. The way my wife and I love each other, well, we could compare that to that 50 Shades movie. I didn’t get the name Sado for no reason. I am into some kinky stuff, let’s just say that. Moving on from that aspect, but this 3rd chapter will be talking about the things of becoming a father, a husband, making love and being sensual to my wife, being passionate to my kids and giving them my all, and being an overall protector to them. I love my family and they have given me a whole new perspective on life and gave me the ability to live my best life. No matter what has happened in my past, to me or me inflicting on others, I have dedicated myself to my family and promised them I would not fail them in any way. This has been an extremely long explanation, I know, but I really have a lot of in depth stuff to talk about through this project. It’s a journey that I hope you all take with me and enjoy it for what it is.

I find that artists who share their life through music takes courage. How did you gain enough courage to start sharing? What was the most hardest song for you to share and why?
 Well, L’appel du Vide is for my listeners to know that they aren’t alone in their own personal struggles. Suppressed Aggression is more for me and trying to process my own trauma. I think that I have gained the courage through knowing that I could help someone get through something by sharing my own personal experience. But the hardest song I am doing hasn’t been recorded yet. Suppressed Aggression is the hardest project I have done, by far. Each song on there has its own level of difficulty and its been hard to get through it. I haven’t finished recording it but the hardest song I had to write was about my mom. Its still not fully complete, but I am still working on it. I also have a song about the sexual abuse that I suffered. There is a song also about being bullied, a song about addiction and overdose, and a song about fighting with my voices about killing someone…you will have to hear it to see who wins.

The artwork that you choose for your songs tells a story as well. Do you draw these?
 No, I am not that kind of artist. I am a lyricist, that’s the artform I’m great at. I can’t really draw to save my life, haha. But I do have people that I’ve been close with my whole life that know me and know what kind of things come out of my mind. My cousin Corey McMasters drew L’appel du Vide’s cover which tells exactly the story of this EP.

Could you tell our listeners more about your song Sado’s Last Chance?
 Sado’s Last Chance talks about the musical coma I was in for 7 years. What I mean by that is when I took the time off from doing music to raise my kids, I literally didn’t write or think about music. It was almost like I was dead musically. I did think about getting back into it right before my twins were born, but being a daddy tends to take your focus away from yourself. This first verse talks about when I first woke back up and still confused of why I wasn’t still pushing to do it. The second verse is a lyricist who is a brilliant writer, but she just didn’t have the drive to continue. She also features on “It All Started” along with my wife on the hook. The third verse speaks about realizing that I still have this in me and how angry I am with myself for stopping…but that anger won’t stop me because I allow it to fuel my drive to continue to pursue this.

Your song, Tested Formula is so dark and mysterious, I love it. How would you explain this song to someone on the street? Next step, the person you are talking to is really into country music and won’t listen to any other music. Could you think of a way for this person to go check out this song and have a listen?
 Tested Formula is a song about suicidal thoughts. This is an extremely dark song, but it’s a very essential song that speaks about most of my life. The first verse talks about how I have felt depressed and how I felt like it would have been better if I were dead. The second verse is my boy RAGZ, we have been doing music for over a decade together and he’s also the producer of the beats I use. He also mixed and mastered L’appel du Vide. His verse is about depression and how it has affected him in his life. The third verse is speaking to my listeners and telling them that they aren’t alone. Throughout the verse, I try to relate to them because I know how tough it is having depression. I finish the track trying to be inspirational saying that I know they can overcome what they are going through because if I can do it, anybody can. I’m not too sure that I could get a country fan into my music, I guess that would be a challenge that I would have to try. I’m not really into that type of music other than Johnny Cash, but I think I would be as real as possible and speak to them as if we are human beings enjoying what we love.

Who are your musical inspirations? Why?
 That’s a tremendously broad question to ask so I will narrow it down by talking about my lyrical and Hip-Hop inspirations. Bone Thugs N Harmony is the reason I started even listening to Hip-Hop and Brotha Lynch Hung is the reason I started rapping. Insane Clown Posse probably was the group that really got me motivated to make music. But it was Marilyn Manson who got me formatting my poetry into lyrics. Marilyn Manson was my biggest influence in my life, but Trent Reznor is also a musical inspiration in the sense of production and overall sound. I think Nine Inch Nails has influenced the way I write more than anyone though. The only reason I can think of why they inspire me the way they do is because I feel in my entire being everything those artists do.

Where do you want to be in music in five years?
 Performing and recording. After the Chronicles of Sado, I will be moving more towards Hip-Hop activism and speaking more on political and social issues.

My Mind, My Prison is another great song. Can you go into more detail about this song?
 This song was originally supposed to be on L’appel du Vide but due to the beat being used by more than one artist, I decided to take it off the final track listing. It was more so a glimpse into the project I was beginning and released it as a preview track. “My Mind, My Prison” is a song that talks about manic episodes that leave you in a trance like state. Kind of like hallucinating in the darkness while in bed…just trying to slow down your thoughts while they seem to be attacking you at the same time.

Could you tell us about your writing process? Does it start with a thought? A Beat? Both?
 Both, it all varies between styles and topics. I used to write strictly without music and it would be formed from a thought. This project has been a combination of how the beat made me feel and starting from a thought. For the Chronicles of Sado, I would start mostly with the topic I was working towards and find beats to accommodate what I was aiming for. There are quite a few songs that I had wrote before finding a beat and had to search for the proper emotion that each beat pertained to the lyrics. That is a difficult process, but I usually find it after scan through countless beats. Usually when I hear it, I will get a moment that lights up in my head and I say to myself “This is the one I’ve been searching for! This would fit perfect with such and such.”

What song took you the longest to write? Which song was the shortest?
 The song I’m writing about my mom probably took the longest to write because when I first started writing it, I would get halfway through a verse than get a panic attack and be flooded with anxiety. The first time I started writing it was back in February and I’m still not completely done with it. The fastest song I’ve wrote…well, writing comes easy and natural to me. All my verse usually come out within 20 minutes. I write as a freestyle and then edit it heavily. So, the process could be 20 to 30 minutes and that’s typical. But I did write 8 bars for the first Dejected Records track I featured on that took me about 8 minutes to write. And I wrote those bars while having an anxiety attack.

We have come to the close of this interview. Do you have any shout-outs you would like to share?
 I want to give a shout out to Gabriel and all the artists on Dejected Records, they have been a pretty great group of individuals; to my wife and children for keeping me grounded and centered in life and showing me the love that I need to be the man I am today; to my friend Amber who lost her baby in the worst way, I shared the link earlier but again I stress that this campaign is going to a good cause given the horrible conditions that she faces now, you can donate here: Memorial for Baby Jane; I also want to shout out to everyone who struggles every day with mental illness, I just want you all to know that you are not alone and that we are here fighting along side you…and I love you all.

Where can our listeners find your music?
 You can find me on SoundCloud and BandCamp. BandCamp is how you download the music and SoundCloud is how you stream it. The links are here: Sado Slim on Soundcloud and Sado Slim on BandCamp

Cheers! It was a pleasure interviewing you!
BTD Radioby