Savage has seen and done it all in his career. The legendary Aotearoa rapper could easily sit back, relax, and revel in his success — but that’s not his style.
Instead, he wants to help the next generation out as much as he can.
In an exclusive new interview with Rolling Stone AU/NZ, Savage told us that part of his mission now is to pass on his knowledge to the next generation.
“I really want to encourage artists to set goals and create stepping stones to reach them,” he said. “But it all starts with understanding the business side of music. Artists are creatives, and a lot of them leave the business to other people, but at the end of the day, this is still a business built around your name. You have to understand what you’re signing and what you own.
“That’s what I’m passionate about now — educating artists and helping them realise they actually have more power and ownership today than artists did back when I started.”
The COVID-19 shocked the music industry, with the repercussions still being felt now, which is why Savage wants artists “to be in a position where they can survive comfortable instead of losing everything overnight” if another pandemic was to happen.
Savage continued: “I really want to empower people because I know, especially from my background, believing in yourself and believing in your ability has been shut down by people around you growing up. What I’ve done in my career and in the space of my lifespan as an artist is something that I want to use as a tool to help other people gain confidence for themselves to try.
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“Think of something you want to achieve and then try and make a way to achieve it. Before you know it, you’ll start to overachieve what you had planned to do.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Savage looked back at his early success as part of Deceptikonz, the seminal Kiwi hip-hop group that also featured Devolo, Alphrisk, and Mareko.
Savage reflected on that time in his life, revealing that their early success “took us by surprise.”
“None of it was mainstream,” he told us. “Then we released ‘Elimination’ and later ‘Fallen Angels’, and suddenly we were pushed into the mainstream. It was crazy seeing our music accepted on that level.”
Read our full interview with Savage here.
