Saskilla [@saskilla] Talks Godson, Grime And The Golden Era.

Cool, so Saskilla, new E.P…

Yeah, new E.P. Godson 1.5. it’s been a big experience. It took me about six months to make. One song was made a year previous.

Which one was that?

That was “8” with Rick Ross and Gunplay, Scrufizzer and Maxsta. I was gonna put that on Godson of Grime, but there were still stipulations with Gunplay’s team releasing the track and the rights to it. So when that was all done a few months later, I was like right, I’m gonna put this on the E.P.

What made you decide to do an E.P?

I had these songs that were meant to be on a previous project or a future project, and I thought you know what, I’m gonna do two E.Ps in-between my albums. So 1.5 standing for we’re halfway there, but we’re not at 2. And the second one I’ll do, will probably be in a months time from now…1.8. I’m gonna make that so big that I have to go in on the album. Godson 2 will really be my best work; that’s what I’m aiming for.

Cool, so what was the theme behind this one?

I’ve seen comments of people saying “my mans just got bare features“, and I was just thinking that was actually the aim. On my album Godson of Grime I didn’t have many features, I had like two. I had Wiley, which is not just any feature, and I had Tre Mission I believe. And a female spitter called Lost Soldier. That was actually my features on the entire thing.

It was off my own effort really…

When it charted, I think it came 37 or 39 in the charts, and when it did that it was like top 40. It wasn’t far in the top 40 but I was very surprised. But it was off my own effort really, it wasn’t really cos I put anyone on the work. I was like rah after all these years of hard work, this is a big achievement, so I was like yeah I need to do more.

“I got a call from Wiley…”

I got a call from Wiley about a week after I put out my album and he said, “Ahhh the Godson, I’m lovin’ it, I think I’m gonna do the Godfather“. Like it inspired him to do his album. I realised after my album, it was like a lot of people started dropping albums. Everyone started dropping complete Grime albums, and there were so many projects. And I was thinking, why wasn’t there so many Grime albums before? We were making mix tapes before. We weren’t taking pride in the construct of it. When I did mine I realised there was a domino effect.

Everyone will benefit.

I was planning to release another one not that far after, but because Wiley was gonna drop the Godfather album within the same year, I was like you know what I can’t do Godson 2 before he drops the Godfather. He’s the Godfather; let him drop his album. He will bring so much fans back to Grime. And then all of us, whether it be Stormzy, AJ Tracey, whoever… when we drop our next project, everyone will benefit.

Can you tell me a bit more about your future projects?

For my album there’s a big decision that I’m trying to decide. I’ve got a song that I put aside with Waka Flocka…

Ahhh..mad.

It’s probably one of the biggest songs of my career and I’m telling myself mentally don’t put it on the album, put it on 1.8. I’m gonna have to force myself to make a bigger song than that.

Yeah people will be like “Rah that’s just on the E.P, what’s the album gonna be like?”

That’s the whole point. It’s like you know what, I have to go in even harder. And I keep saying that ‘cos I do.

What do you think about the grime scene right now?

There’s a lot of unity in the UK between the artists. You’ll see MoStack, with Mist from Birmingham, with J Hus from East London. They’re from completely different zones, but they’re all working together for the greater goal, of what the tune’s gonna sound like and the impact of it. I feel Grime is in it’s Platinum era. It’s not in it’s Golden era. I think that’s when it started; the Channel U days.

People can really buy houses…off of grime.

We’re in the Platinum era where people can really buy houses and tour the world off of Grime. Whereas when I made an anthem with Maxwell D, you couldn’t really do that. If you got a festival it would be a community festival, and you’d be happy just to be there, whereas now people are doing Glastonbury. Everything has changed.

So Grime in the future; how do you see it evolving? 

I see it being one of the main genres in the U.K. It may not be the type of Grime we’re used to right now, or that we’ve heard in the past but it will be classified as Grime. In terms of the beats, the instrumentals, the sounds…it’s not going anywhere. It’s stamped itself on the world as a British genre. Something made by kids from a poor background, who’ve made something Britain can be proud of, but it’s not made by the elite of Britain.

We can sell T-Shirts, we can put on shows…

We’re in a self-sufficient industry now… We can sell T-Shirts, we can put on shows. It’s not a fad, we’ve gone past that. Can it stay the same? Probably not. Did Rock’n’Roll stay the same? No. Has R’n’B stayed the same? Not really. It’s changed with the time, and the people, and the technology. Grime will do the same thing.

Godson 1.5 is out now.