Credit: Tolu Elusadé
Tate Collective gave breakout rapper Sainté a tour of Tate Modern, and invited him to curate a playlist inspired by the artworks on display in the Art and Society display.
Sainté is a UK rapper from Leicester who solidified his position as a prominent figure in the UK rap scene with his debut single 'Envy Me' in 2019. With the release of his latest album 'Still Local' we're excited to see what the future holds for the young rapper.
Read our interview with Sainté below and discover the reasons behind his song choices, as well as his fresh perspective on the fusion of art and music.
Credit: Tolu Elusadé
Do you remember the first time you visited Tate Modern?
‘The first time I came to Tate Modern, I wouldn't be able to know the exact year, but I was in secondary school, and it was a trip.
It was when you could either go to the London Dungeon or to Tate Modern, we had some free time, which obviously I chose Tate Modern for the free time, but then when I went to Tate Modern, it was like being in that space and like how huge it was.’‘It was my first time being in a building that big at the time, but then the scene, like all the expensive pieces of art and everything, and like seeing other people that just be so into artworks.’
Credit: Tolu Elusadé
What’s the relationship between music and art and do they ever inform one another?
‘I feel they're basically like siblings. An artist can write a whole song based on their favourite piece of art or reference songs. Like reference art pieces in their lyrics, but in the same way an artist that paints art or makes art can listen to that favourite song and be inspired to create or paint something.'
Credit: Tolu Elusadé
Can you describe how you matched visual art with music in the playlist?
‘OK, so the first one was that Homemade Gun. The way the sonics and melody goes in the beginning of the song reminds me of how I felt walking in like and seeing everything from the first glance.
And Feels Like Summer came in when you know how I point out the black and white flags without the colours. (Referencing ‘Flags’ 2009, by Fred Wilson). So the first thing you do seeing that piece is to imagine the colours to identify the flag. You have to imagine the colours in all the African flags. And it made me think of summer.
And then it’s kind of like where does your imagination go with everything? So like I kind of went into that and went into my own songs.
But then I went into Makeda by Les Nubians. It just gave me curiosity. It’s the feeling of wanting to know more but in a peaceful way and in my own time.’
Tate Collective is supported by Anthony and Sandra Gutman, The Rothschild Foundation and Tate Patrons.