Interview: Artist Sangstaa Discusses His Passion for Music, the Meaning behind His Artist Name, and his Upcoming Tour with Artist Gsoul
By. Alicia Zamora
Alicia’s Studio Sits Down with Artist Sangstaa to Talk about What Sparked His Passion for Music, His Two Recent Singles and the Meaning behind Them, and Upcoming Tour with Artist Gsoul!
A Conversation With Sangstaa
Alicia: Welcome back to Alicia’s Studio we have our sixth special guest Sangstaa
Sangstaa: Yeah I'm the sixth one!
Alicia: *laughs*
Alicia: okay you can go ahead and introduce yourself and what you do.
Sangstaa: I go by the name Sangstaa I’m from Raleigh North Carolina and I’m cooler than you.. Nah I’m kidding
Alicia: *laughs*
Sangstaa: But yeah I’m here. Shout out to Alicia and everybody for having me here!
Alicia: Thank you! Thank you!
Alicia: Diving into the first question How did music become something that you wanted to do? and what led you to pick the path of an artist?
Sangstaa: So my moms a pianist and my dad always played the guitar so when I was young we used to always harmonize at the crib and one time I was singing some k-pop songs and my brother was like “bro you kinda nice” and I was like for real? And yeah I just like music.
Sangstaa: I don't know I just love music it makes me feel like I’m in a movie; it makes you feel like you're not here right now. Somebody asked me in second grade what I wanted to be when I grew up and remember saying a singer.
Alicia: With the release of your recent two new singles ‘MIA’ and ‘She Knows’ what was the inspiration behind it?
Sangstaa: ‘MIA” hm let me see the inspiration behind it was.. MIA well it’s not direct but I’m kind of showing resentment towards my friends. I’m talking a little more aggressively than I usually would. I like ‘MIA” though it’s one of my favorite songs. ‘She Knows’ is about some girl and you know it’s not the right time and she knows.
Alicia: With those two singles what was the hardest part when creating them?
Sangstaa: I don't think there was a hard part but technically speaking it’s always the mixing because I’m always going to listen to it and mix it a little bit. So I usually have like a hundred bounces per song which is kinda of crazy but I always stick to the first base but technically speaking that’s the hardest but also it’s fun.
Alicia: What made you go with the artist name ‘Sangstaa’?
Sangstaa: Sangsta so that’s my nickname my real name is Sang and when I was in the sixth grade I got into this fight with this dude.. You know we were fighting and I was whooping him. My homies mom, my godmother was like “Sangstaa the gangster” so that was my nickname in my neighborhood.
Alicia: Genre wise what would you say is the genre you're aiming for?
Sangstaa: I don't really aim for a genre. I'm very inspired by R&B, Soul, Hip-hop, and Indie but I don't really try to aim for a genre you know what I mean. I just play a beat I make and if I play a beat and like it I just make a song to that. I don’t aim for a certain sound but I did release an Indie project like all Indie it’s called “You’re All I Know”. But in terms of genre, I like whatever.
Alicia: When it comes down to goals as an artist what would you say your goals are for this year and the future?
Sangstaa: My goal is to stay really grateful and to stay as healthy as I can and to just keep living extreme. I’m an extremist so I feel like I’m living my second life right now.
Alicia: As an artist what would you say has been your greatest accomplishment so far?
Sangstaa: I would say everything because I come from zero so every little thing I’m grateful for but technically speaking probably going on tours and signing a distribution with LVRN it's not a huge deal in my eyes but it is pretty cool. It’s the same label as Summer Walker. I’m the first Asian artist signed so it’s pretty cool. There from Atlanta. It’s me and a lot of the artists I grew up listening to. The biggest accomplishment is being able to do this with my friends.
Alicia: Right right!
Alicia: When creating music what does the process look like for you?
Sangstaa: I just come up with some cords and then I turn the mic on and I just start freestyling. I don’t know I just like freestyling. I just go off a feeling and it eventually. It sets where words start coming to me and I'm like alright. But the most important part is that I have to speak the truth. Sometimes you don’t even know how you feel till you start recording and it’s like “okay this is what I want to say”. I just try to enjoy it and not overthink. I used to overthink a lot but I don’t really care about a lot of stuff anymore.
Alicia: How long does it usually take you to write a song?
Sangstaa: I don’t really write a song I just kind of go as I go. For “She Knows' ' I did that one in twenty minutes. There are a few records that I’ve written in a short amount of time but for some songs I do 60% of it and then sit on it for two months then finish the rest. It depends on how much I like the song. If I really like the song then I’ll try to do it in that one moment because I have that feeling where I have to do it at that moment. But I would say about an hour max.
Alicia: When it comes down to musical inspirations do you have any group or artist that you get inspiration from?
Sangstaa: Ooo like who I'm inspired by?
Alicia: yeah!
Sangstaa: I'm inspired by everything! So in Korea I was listening to a lot of kpop. I didn't really listen to hip-hop like that. I did listen to Korean Rap but I didn't know the roots of hip hop until I moved to America so Big Bang is a big influence to me cause they were the first ones that made good music in my mind. They were the ones pushing the American culture with the big ass chains and you know it was kinda cool so I like that. But fashion wise I get inspired by G-Dragon. I like being fly so that’s a part of the whole thing.
Sangstaa: I love Frank Ocean. I’m still a big ass fan of music so if I just like the music then I get inspired. My friends like Trent the Hooligan. He's a dope rapper and he’s also my roommate. I like his music so being around him I think more on lyrical parts and I’m more intact with rap culture.
Alicia: Oo okay!
Alicia: Since we're on the topic, what artist would you like to collaborate with in the future?
Sangstaa: Hmmm.. Let me think about this one. I love Post Malone and I do want to make a song together; that would sound crazy! Obviously whoever wants to make music with me too. If I like their music or vice versa then let’s do it. But one person I would say that I would want to make music with is probably Post or Tyler the Creator. Babyface Red he’s one of my favorite rappers. I don’t know if you know him but yeah oo and Sauce Walka from Houston.
Alicia: Ooo okay okay!
Alicia: As an upcoming artist, what would you like people to think when they hear the name “Sangstaa”?
Sangstaa: Think whatever yall want I don't want them to think whatever I want but I do want to be known as the person who has high-quality art you know what I'm saying. I don’t really care how people think of me. But maybe as an artist I would want them to think I have the highest quality art like “Damn he’s dope” or “He’s creative let me tap in”. That’s everybody’s greed as an artist. But yeah whatever you think go ahead and think that!
Alicia: *laughs*
Alicia: What advice do you have for the people who are trying to pursue the music path?
Sangstaa: Just music?
Alicia: Anything in general like any advice that you have!
Sangstaa: Well I’m not one to be giving advice but I would say whatever you want to do in life you just have to be extremely grateful for everything and don’t overthink, don’t over analyze. Just move with gratitude and respect and work hard. I don’t mean work hard like “go do this everyday” but there are certain times where you have to. Like for me I had three to four years where I was just in my room making music. I didn’t talk to anybody, all I did was make music. But I did need that time so I don’t regret it because it made me better. Just live your life and live it with gratitude and it’ll reflect on everything you're doing.
Sangstaa: If your gonna do something do it all the way
Alicia: Do you have any future projects coming out anytime soon?
Sangstaa: I don’t have any projects currently but I do have a lot of music. I have like 300 songs in the vault.
Alicia: Oh shit!
Sangstaa: But I got a few singles on the way. I just dropped a single called “Stay The Nite '' go check it out! I have another single coming out in June and I haven’t announced this yet but I’m going on tour in June with GSoul.
Alicia: Yeah I saw that GSoul was touring with Kohai! That’s dope.
Sangstaa: Yeah, a little West Coast tour.
Alicia: With the interview coming to an end I wanted to say thank you for letting me interview you and you can go ahead and promote your stuff or say whatever you’d like!
Sangstaa: Thank You for having me !
Sangstaa: I hate Downtown. There's no parking but I got some water and my best friend is here. We got Alicia and her squad. Thank you for having me.
Sangstaa: It’s ya boy Sangstaa. North Carolina tap in !