INTERVIEW WITH LORD SAIYAN
In Spawn’s first interview ever, we speak to Lord Saiyan. In this coveted interview we learned that the Washington State resideing rapper is so much more than just an Ape fanatic from first glance. With a nostalgic embrace from DBZ (Dragon Ball Z) to a fantastical drug from Skyrim, influences that make this artist who he is are prevalent throughout himself and his music. If you’d like to learn more about Lord Saiyan keep reading, as we discuss some pretty important topics in relation to where Lord Saiyan is going with his music, future releases, and even evolutionary theory..
I just want to say, first and foremost thank you for being the first person to be interviewed for Spawn, it means a lot. I’d like to start off this interview asking you what do you hope to express to the masses / have perceived over the course of your lifespan as a artist?
LS: Your welcome & thank you, I like to express the evolution theory, the idea that man is ape. When I was a kid I was always fascinated with history, mostly ancient, I think we can all learn from it.
When you think about now and how we technically will be part of history, what do you hope would be the most memorable about the underground scene and why?
LS: I think it’s just crazy how diverse the scene is, also how good it is. Especially on the producer side. I guess I am pretty new to the underground scene so I still have a lot of artist to catch up on.
Okay, to backtrack a little you mentioned something about “man being ape” (not those words exactly), but I wanted to bring it up cause the ape symbolism is a prevalent part of you as a artist. Care to elaborate on the topic of ape’s? I mean, evolutionary wise we are related to the ape in some way, so there’s truth to that, but what is your testimony / outlook about it?
LS: Ever since a kid I just felt connected to chimpanzees to be honest, but recently with rap I want to make more people aware of it. It all started for my love of dragon ball z, I needed a new cool rap name and I started to go by saiyan or supasaiyan. I have natural blonde hair so that’s why I wanted the “Saiyan”, I added the “lord” later for a medieval feel. Anyways I always thought it was weird in dragon ball z that saiyans although an alien race was mostly human and when they lash out in rage during a full moon it’s like they devolve back into a beast, an ape. So that’s what I do whenever I make music, I devolve from what I came, my tone becomes more brute and my expression is more violent. It’s also just an aesthetic that I find attractive, ape like things. I just love it in all.
Why do you have an love for dragon ball z? Do you think that if you never had an admiration for the show while growing up that you would still end up being “lord saiyan”?
LS: Probably not, if I didn’t watch it late at night I’d probably be something else, the show made me cry as a kid it was the most emotional thing, all about saving the world and shit it was epic. But I love Japanese media/culture like Godzilla and so on. However most rap titled as “anime rap” I do not like personally.
Why are you not fond of “anime rap” and what subcategory would you put yourself in? I’d also like to ask, how do you feel about the show now? Is there anything that that came after in your life for you that made you feel like how DBZ did?
LS: I’m just going for a different feel, I’m not sure what to categorize myself in but I’m going for a ancient trap kinda metal feel. Ofcourse, dbz now or “dbs” is okay I’m not really keeping up to date. I liked the earlier episodes. But I’ve gotten into pretty much everything there is when it comes to fantasy, lord of the rings type and so on. I also enjoy science fiction story telling, I’m a geek. So you can kinda see the hints in my music I think.
From what I’ve retained so far, there’s plenty of things you are passionate about / like, and I’m just curious to know how some of these things influence you as artist, since you said you feel as though you think people can kind of see the hints in your music. Care to share any examples that may have gone over our heads?
LS: Sure like “skaven”& “warp” when I scream war like “waghhhh” these are all warhammer fantasy references. I also like to reference elder scrolls a lot like “skooma” which is a drug in Skyrim basically.
Whilst looking at your Soundcloud I noticed you have quite a few songs including a whole tape produced “Reptilian God Mana”. What’s your relationship like with him?
LS: Yeah I found him on SoundCloud from his early raps and noticed he produced too so asked if I could cop a few, ended up being my favorite producer of the time. We also met a couple times I went to his first performance and he just happened to make it to mine in Portland so we’re good pals.
Where do you reside at now, and how did you end up doing your first show in Portland?
LS: I stay in Washington state just over the bridge of Portland, I opened for ghostemane and it was a blast. It was actually at a indoor skatepark called dblock.
Can we expect more produced songs by Mana on your upcoming “ApeLord” tape?
LS: Unfortunately no mana produced tracks right now. “Apelord” will actually be fully produced by Prxphet. It’s going to be a “series” as I call it, because I release the songs like episodes, one week at a time or so.
When do think you’ll complete the Apelord series? Also are “Caveman” & “Dark Force” just singles or are they ‘episodes’ part of the Apelord series?
LS: “Dark Force” I just wanted to drop off to officially announce what’s coming, but cavemen is its own thing, in the end you’ll know the final product of ApeLord im planning big things.
Why should people listen to you opposed to listening to another artists with a similar sound or belonging to the same “genre”, I use that term loosely btw. What do you offer that you feel people like the most about you?
LS: I just don’t hear my sound really anywhere else, I like mixing everything from auto tune high pitch singing in the background to ape grunts all created by me, i want to give instinct animal feel, barely human. I also wanna collab with the best talent I can find, mostly rappers who can chop it up like me, keep up. Aggressive fast flows/ ignorance is half of the rap scene if not way more… but I still feel different enough to be considered my own lane perhaps.
Ok, I think in conclusion I want to ask “Who are you?” And I’ll leave that question up to you to interpret however you’d like. Thank you for being the first to be interviewed by Spawn, it’s appreciated.
LS: Lord Saiyan is who I wanna be, overall I just never want to work a day in my life without music involved. I always wanted to create, from movies to books I’ve tried it all in some form. I think music is where I will stay. Thank you for interviewing me.
