Detonate: Saph

Starting out as a rapper with NBE and DJ Jocular’s rap crew in 2008 homegrown talent Saph of rap group Serius Selamba Krew (SSK) has gradually made inroads into the hip hop elite with his recent crowning as winner of the 4th installment of The Beat Meet, a freestyle MC battle series organised by The MoveMint.

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Representing Malay street lingo, SSK graduated from underground gigs to big festivals across the nation and Singapore while also managing to enter Muzik Muzik for a week. But even though they made a name for themselves in local hip hop circles, SSK found it tough surviving in the mainstream.

As a beat poet, Saph pens down rhymes about life, people and almost anything his mind allows. Now he’s taken his passion for rap and hip hop to the next level as he indulges in a new love: production. What sparked this endeavour was when he found himself getting tired of downloading random beats and samples from the Soundclick website to rap over. It was then that he began to produce his own material. Through his pal, G of 5forty2, Saph picked up some knowledge on the Fruity Loops music software and started producing beats.

The MC-turned-producer began exploring different styles; some were fast tempo tracks, some embraced shifting sample chops and some were just plain weird-depending on his mood and inspiration at the time. With DJ Premier as his biggest influence, Saph made a remix and submitted it for an online competition, which duly garnered 3rd place.

These days, Saph is working on SSK’s full-length album while also producing beats for other rappers and working together with another dope beatmaker (and a good friend of his) Motion. Look forward to SSK’s upcoming album sometime this year and some free online tracks coming out real soon.

More mastery at www.youtube.com/saphssk.