I just was a fan looking, watching, and observing. Not like we were overseeing them or something, because they stood on their own, they were doing what they do. We were just there through the whole process. Jamar did some early production with Artifacts. SX: We were instrumental in hearing a lot of stuff they did. I remember reading when Artifacts were in the “Unsigned Hype” column in The Source in the early ’90s, that you and Jamar appeared on their demo and worked with them. JD: Sadat, from what I understand, Brand Nubian helped shepherd Artifacts in the beginning of their career. When we were walking down the street coming to the stage, Monie Love and Lord Finesse were on stage doing a freestyle off of, “You’re a Customer,” the EPMD remix beat. Even though we had the markers you can wipe off, they still were like, “Nah, let’s go.” So we got arrested that afternoon and still made it to the show.ĮDS: It was a big concert. Because me, Tame, and his boy, we’re on the train, writing on the train and then the conductor dude came and saw us. Me and my man Polo Ice got arrested that same day. Actually, there’s a little story to this. I guess we exchanged numbers, connected, and they would come up to New Rochelle where I had some DJ equipment, me and Lord Jamar, and basically we just took it from there and just kept the bond growing.ĮDS: We were watching them perform in Harlem and we knew they were gonna be there, so we caught the train. I met and they explained they were doing what they were doing and they were on some hip-hop tip and trying to get their stuff together. SX: We were performing at the State building in Harlem, downtown. SX: Word, since the ‘90s, so it’s been about 25 years.

JD: How long have you two known each other? So a lot of the producers on the record are kind of new.

We pretty much were like, “Let’s get everybody we can get that we know can help and actually have a new sound.” We still worked with the older dudes like Spinna, J Rawls, we got new blood with Mentalist and Divine Drummer. People we knew, people sending in beats, people that were recommended to us, a combination of all of that.ĮDS: Yeah, and international production as well. SX: I would say a combination of both, actually. JD: For the album’s production, did you primarily use people you knew or did you work on getting some from outside submissions? Half of the producers on the album, we both know, so it fell into place once we started getting into the music. SX: Basically, it was that time, with a lot of people telling us to do it and it was a matter of us really sitting down and just doing it.ĮDS: We know the same friends as far as producers. We actually started putting the pieces together and got the process going and then it matriculated from there.Įl Da Sensei: We got the same friends who were kind of asking us, “Y’all ever think about doing a project together?” And we just looked at each other and were like, “Yo, let’s try it, see what happens.” This was the final result. It finally came together I’d say maybe about five years ago. Sadat X: It’s been in the making for a long time. Jesse Ducker: When did you guys decide you wanted to record an album together? I recently spoke with Sadat and El about the long process to making the album, their in-studio chemistry, shared work ethic, and the role of veterans like themselves in the current hip-hop landscape. They finally released XL in late September of last year. Busy schedules from both recording and touring prevented them from finishing the album until 2018. Six years ago, the two realized that it made sense to collaborate and record an album together. They’d remained cool over the years, even appearing on each other’s albums on occasion, like the extremely dope “On and On” from El’s first solo album, Relax, Relate, Release (2002). Sadat and Lord Jamar took Artifacts under their wing in the early ’90s, and helped them record their first demo. The pair have a long history in the hip-hop scene. Meanwhile, El is best known as one half of Artifacts, but has been recording solo material since 2002. He has also dropped 10 solo albums since 1996. Sadat X is a founding member of the iconic Brand Nubian, which began to make noise in 1990 and has since recorded six albums. Teaming up to record an album together seems like a natural extension of their longtime friendship and their steadfastness to their blue-collar approach to creating their art, which manifests itself in XL, the duo’s first full-length musical partnership.īoth El Da Sensei and Sadat X are members of acclaimed and legendary hip-hop groups, as well as seasoned solo acts. They share a love for dope hip-hop and a commitment to creating music that will appeal to their dedicated fanbases. Derek “ Sadat X” Murphy and William “El Da Sensei” Williams are consummate professionals.

El da sensei relax relate release