Saz.É, real name Osaze O. Akerejah, was born on the 31st of January in the year 1992. He was born to a Nigerian father and an African American mother. He grew up in the suburb of Franklin, New Jersey with two older brothers. His eldest brother introduced him to NaS in 1994 by way of the acclaimed “Illmatic” album sparking his interest in music and hip-hop at an early age. By the age of 6, Akerejah had extended his knowledge of hip-hop, adopt his first rap alias, O-Man and begun constructing very rudimentary lyrics. But as he transitioned into higher grades his dream of music took a backseat to the new desire to become a famous zoologist.
His passion for music reignited in seventh grade as his parents divorce battle began to worsen. “At that point, there was a lot of pain in the household, I was staying with my father and the younger of my older brothers. In retrospect, its like I began writing again to cope with what felt like grave turmoil. I was getting emotionally damaged by discussions with my mother, it’s like I needed a place to store my feelings while the reality of the situation started turning me cold and stoic.” he says. Middle school saw more musical advancement as he joined forces with best friends Freeman McGaw and Najee Nunez to form a rap group called F-Town Dips (Franklin Township Diplomats). More members were added (later lost) and the faction recorded their first mixtape entitled “Jr. Diplomats” the summer of 2006.
The group officially disbanded in 2008 and Saz.É continued to pursue a solo career with best friend Freeman serving as his DJ under the name of DJ Freeez. Najee Nunez continued to be a frequent collaborator under the name of S.G. Yung, also pursuing a solo career. All men set forth on different paths of success but continued to remain best friends. In the fall of 2008 Saz.É got further attention upon releasing a song entitled “Brunette Devil” on his Myspace page. The song told the scathing story of Saz.É’s reaction to a cheating girlfriend. The song was acclaimed by locals and launched him into a state of high school popularity, getting rave reviews at showcases. “Yeah, “Brunette Devil”…that’s that shit! [laughs]. People thought it was about a real girl but nah, I was just in my zone with the story telling. What surprised by how well it was received, from my high school to a Harvard theater full of people from all around the world. Nuts. It let me know that I had an appeal within my emotional depth.”
His first mixtape DjFreeez Presents…Saz.É’s The Little Black Boxx was released in 2010, and was acclaimed by locals. The mixtape further showcased Saz.É’s versatility, lyrical dexterity and overall craft for creating music. He then went on to attend Brandeis University in Boston, Massachusetts. He is currently in his second year at the university. He has continued to amass a college fan base as well as continue work on bigger more ambitious projects. His second mixtape DjFreeez Presents…Saz.É’s Invincible Tomorrow was released on February 21, 2012 with critics commenting on Saz.É’s evolution in terms of song crafting, as well as his attention to lyrical detail and emotional relevance. A third is also in the early stages of production entitled “One Hell of an Internship”, a collaboration with Chicago producer Dom? Beats.
Final Words:
“I think of myself as a musical artists whose particular musical medium is rapping. For some reason rap has a negative connotation to it. Rappers come under a lot of fire for their subject matter and are generally thought of as boxed in and a lot of times aren’t even considered to be artists. Well, I say ‘fuck that, I’m an artist, the shit I do with this music is art’. The world will recognize me as an artist above all else. The future’s bright because I say so, and I’ll make it so.”
