By Joe Coburn, Second Year Philosophy
Following the release of three EPs, including his breakout project Local MVP, which to date has amassed over two hundred and fifty million streams on Spotify, this year Leicester-born rapper Sainté released his debut LP Still Local.
The title serves as both a knowing, avuncular wink to longtime fans and a reminder that, despite growing into one of the emergent stars of contemporary UK rap, Sainté keeps an eye cast back home.
Over the course of a tour that is taking the rapper from Glasgow to Gothenburg, I caught Sainté at SWX, a staple of Bristol nightlife that boasts a cavernous auditorium with a real industrial atmosphere. It’s a venue reminiscent of the jagged, electronic sound of UK rap’s yesteryear - though it’s a long way from East London.
Sainté and his sonic peers – I’m thinking Ayrtn, Knucks, Reek0 et al. – burst onto the post-lockdown soundscape with something to prove. And something to say; storytelling through slick, seemingly effortless flows over jazz-adjacent samples and minimalistic trap drums.
In a time when people were just buzzing to step foot outside, sun in the sky and tinny in hand (it’s the simple things…), I remember Sainté as spearheading a sound that helped recolour the teenage world.
The night kicked off with support sets from two up-and-coming London rappers, Tay Jordan and AntsLive. Sainté once said he holds Larry June as a big influence, and few artists on this side of the pond capture that Bay Area sound as succinctly as Jordan. His laid-back but assured delivery of bars, rife with UK vernacular over hypnotic '80s drum loops on tracks like ‘2089’ and ‘Type Sh*t’, made for a striking sound.
AntsLive, incidentally a University of Bristol alumnus, has had a turbulent couple of years, taking social media by storm with his absurdly cool (and often outright absurd) music videos.
As he rapped, projected behind him were clips showcasing the rapper on a dinner date with a goat in ‘Number One Candidate’, rooftop dancing against the Eiffel Tower in ‘Ooh La La’, and, in a real Tom Cruise moment, rapping mid-air strapped atop a biplane in ‘Captain Ants’. No green screen needed. Despite some pretty generic flows, the visuals and Ants’ sheer energy made for a memorable set.
Baggy jorts, woollen beanie, big smile; out leapt Sainté to general furore. He opened with his latest single ‘Calm and Collected’, a heady continuation of his signature dreamlike, understated style.
Tight, punchy snares pierced the misty veil of reds and blues that cast light upon the masses. There’s something to be said about the quality of the lighting; a pulsing, psychedelic ambience punctuated by rhythmic flashes of white gave the rapper’s performance a real visual depth.
Continuing with cuts ‘Tea over Henny’ and ‘Sade’, for all the smooth bravado of Sainté’s delivery, I couldn’t help but feel as if some of the tracks lacked distinction. The clever but glib bars and hazy production all began to blur together.
But my fatigue was soon dispelled when a basketball stand was brought out on stage, and fans were picked out to shoot hoops for merch. A younger Sainté was an aspiring basketball player himself for Leicester Dynamite, once calling his music career an 'amazing mistake.'
This was both a brilliant moment of crowd interaction, something Sainté excels at, and an endearing tribute to his past. ‘V’ with AntsLive was another standout moment; the two glided back and forth over a seriously beautiful soul-sample beat, complementing each other’s energy superbly.
The set finished with classic cuts from Local MVP, like the bouncy and illustrious ‘Champagne Shots’, and a victory lap rendition of Chicago native Chief Keef’s ‘Love Sosa’. Legendary stuff.
Sainté may not be the most avant-garde player in the UK rap scene, but he doesn’t have to be. He’s mastered his mellow sound, flows oozing with a nonchalant swagger that speaks to his wit as a stage performer. It’s a sound that’s taking him places. But he’s still local.
Featured Image: Joe CoburnWhat's your favourite Sainté song?
