Saul Williams mixes rap, poetry, passion and politics on his new heady new self-titled album
By Paul Zollo
 |
Saul Williams |
|
There are a lot of misconceptions about the celebrated hip-hop artist/poet/actor Saul Williams. One is that he's an angry man, because of the often politically-charged turbulent tone of his poetry and raps. It's not true: during the recording of his extraordinary new self-titled new album, he laughed through most of the tracks, before erasing the laughter for a more serious sound. Another misconception is that he digs his inspirations for his poetry and music out of the mean streets of New York City. In fact, these days he lives in the temperate climes of Laurel Canyon, in the heart of Los Angeles.
The truth is that Saul is a 32-year old native of Newburg, New York. His skill with rapping commenced when he was a kid. "I was in third grade," he remembered during a recent conversation in Los Angeles, "and I was writing raps with hooks and verses, primarily because of L.L. Cool J. I was listening to him and I was writing rap songs about how cool I was. Though I actually wasn't."
He grew up listening to hip-hop, but also, surprisingly, to Paul Robeson. "From third grade on, I did about three school reports on Paul Robeson. He became an idol to me, because of what he represented politically, and how he connected his politics to his artistry."
The nexus of politics and art is at the heart of his thoughts and his work. "It's what I think is most important," he said. Queried about the difference between writing a poem and a song, he said, "A song often forces me to focus on one subject. Whereas with a poem, I can be all over the place. However, I don't really have a prevailing message. If anything, my message is: `Begin the process of thinking or yourself.' Within the context of today's society, it's important for young people, in particular, to realize they are being told what to do. And at some point one has to learn to speak up counter to what your parents tell you, and realize that the big brother hand of society, and of government and authority is also a parent that you have to learn to react against, and not just raise a flag when they tell you to."
He's raised his own personal flag in books, movies and albums. He starred in the critically-acclaimed film Slam, which introduced his uniquely dynamic brand of poetry to the world, and is the author of three volumes of poetry. Saul Williams is his second album, following 2001's Amethyst Rock Star, produced by Rick Rubin.
Rumors that he and Rubin didn't get along were untrue. "Oh, we got along," Saul said. "But we just didn't see eye to eye about how the album should sound. I chose him because I wanted to do more of a rock thing, and he didn't want any guitars on my album. And that was a problem."
Asked about Rubin's oft-quoted declaration that Williams is a poet but not a songwriter, he answered, "I have more experience with poetry than with music. But I think the music is catching up. And more than anything I consider myself a performer. I act, I recite poetry, and I do music. I like performing, and all those mediums allow me the opportunity to perform."
This time around he produced the album himself. "I loved it," he said. "All of these tracks were done at my leisure in my home. It was a lot of fun; there was no stress. My plan was to do these demos, and then find a producer to make a real record. But by the time I had twenty demos, I felt I could pick 12 songs, and have an album. I wanted to preserve the rawness of it, and the best way to do that was to keep it raw."
Though this is his second album, he feels it's his true debut, which is one of the reasons it's self-titled. "I called this one Saul Williams because there's no title stronger," he said. "I wanted it to represent as many sides of me as possible, and I don't think I would have done that if this had a different title."
He's a busy guy with many projects brewing. A symphony based on his last volume of poetry, said the shotgun to the head, has been composed by Thomas Kessler, and will be performed in Basel, Switzerland in March. Saul will recite the epic poem along with the orchestra, bolstered by a chorus of seven voices.
Though he's now an acclaimed hip-hop artist, he said that creating poetry is perhaps the most essential aspect of his life, though music comes in a close second. "Some people go to see therapists. I have found that it's best for me to write poems in order to maintain a certain psychological, mental, spiritual clarity. I need to write down thoughts and ideas. So I create out of that need. But music is another form of release for me. It's like asking, `Are you more of a meat man or a potato man?' Well, I like the potato and I like the meat."
With this new album, most of the music came first, and after a partial track was in place, he would work on the words. He composes his music on a Yamaha sequencer, but tries to always add a human touch to his music. "Instead of sampling the drums and programming it, " he explains, "I'll play them live on the keyboard so that there is some human error."
Regarding his move to Los Angeles from New York, he said both cities seriously influence the kind of work that emerges. "In New York, I wrote in public, mostly. On the subway. I always travel with a journal. Or in clubs or in the street. Whereas here [in L.A.] it's the West, and it's a lot more expansive. And I find my writing to be a lot more expansive. I may write four pages here, whereas in New York I might write one paragraph. But that one paragraph would be a diamond. The four pages here would be the coal around the diamond and the diamond. So I have had to learn to edit a lot more out here. There's just a lot more space to go." He admits he misses the intensity of the street vibe in New York, but makes up for it by going to the busy farmer's markets held around town. "You can see people walking!" he says with a laugh.
He's a gifted rhymer, which he attributes to simply having it done it for so long. "I think I have [rhyming] to pull on," he says, "because of a lot of practice. And because of a love of hip-hop and lyricism. And now I substitute my ego, my braggadocio, with a sense of writing songs about us, instead of me. I wanted this to be about the people, and our collective power. If you listen to hip-hop instead of rock music, that's the main difference: you'll hear the word `I' much more. I wanted to move away from that. So this new work isn't just about me. It's about all people. And I think if something is universal, that's the most powerful art any artist can create. "
