Saidah Seye is a bilingual Somalian hip hop and rap artist born and raised in Brooklyn. Her voice is elegant, but she definitely knows how to bring on the Brooklyn attitude when it comes down to rapping. She started her career out working behind the scenes for DJ Khalid’s album “Suffering From Success”, and also pursued job positions at Essence Music Festival and CIAA. Saidah had been extremely successful on the business side of the music industry, but she knew that she would achieve even greater prosperity making her own music. Some of Saidah’s work includes a track with popular French artist ‘47’, and her hit song “B.A.D.” with WildnOut star, ‘Arnstar’.
Saidah’s latest release “Fiesta” is her own take on Busta Rhymes’ “I Know What You Want”. It has a summer flair, a slick flow, and an upbeat tempo that will make anyone get up and dance. When Saidah raps in “Fiesta”, she controls the mood of the listener. She gives off positive vibes that will make you escape reality. What I like best about this track is the strong, confident female presence that Saidah brings. The verse to best represent this is “Nah I ain’t cutting no slack cuz I got it like that, and when you lose this I ain’t coming back”. Saidah makes it clear that she knows her worth and won’t settle for less. I love how she incorporates a feel-good message into her catchy song, and I hope to hear more songs like this from Saidah in the near future! In the meantime, you can find Saidah on Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal and iHeart Radio.
Check out "Feista" here and scroll down for more with the artist below!
Hi Saidah! Great to chat with you! Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
So I go by the name of Saidah Seye and I am 24 years bold* from Brooklyn, NY. For starters, I grew up in a Musical household. My mom taught me how to dance because she realized I had to rhythm and refused me to inherit that Somali gene lol and my dad taught me how to remember lyrics then we started rapping together because he was a rapper himself. My mom bought me every single Disney movie and costume letting me sing and act all over the house but once my parents separated things in my life changed and music went from something I did for fun to a sad melody I’ve become finding comfort and safety in the sounds of music. Later on, I got bullied a lot in school and wasn’t content with my reality so I sought out after school activities in music to occupy my time and the stage became my home. In school, I would get teased a lot but the audience was far from the stage making me feel far from my worries and far from my bullies and it didn’t matter what you thought of my appearance or even personal sentiments through music I made you connect. At 18, I began my career behind the scenes of the industry working in promotions and marketing for PMI. My first client was DJ Khaled where I worked on his project 'Suffering From Success' and following that, I worked at the Essence Music Festival and CIAA. Currently I am back on the scene as an independent artist and have music on multiple streaming sites worldwide including, Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal and iHeart Radio.
Does being from Brooklyn have an influence on your music and style?
Being from Brooklyn heavily influences my music and style. I owe it to myself and to the Kulture to keep this tone alive. I am my city and my experiences; pressure makes diamonds and being born in the early 90s Of thorough BK, being alive around the time of Biggie’s death, hailing from the same city as some of the biggest artists in the game I think it’s extremely important to share with the world how Brooklyn helped contribute to the Saidah Seye you see before you. When I rap, I want people to feel that I rap with with conviction and pride; proud of who I am and where I was raised.
What is it about Busta Rhymes’ “I Know What You Want” that made you want to do your own take on it?
The song “I Know What You Want” came out in 2002, so I was about 8ish I want to say and the lyrics in this song represented my idea of true love lol. I KNOW THAT SOUNDS SO DAMN SILLY lol but growing up in the hood seeing thugs on a daily basis but hearing this more sensual side of the streets had me in a trance. I was like “whoaaaa I want that kind of love, I’m young as shit but I want something as passionate and real as this”, not to mention Rah Digga’s verse is ICONIC!! So when I heard this beat from Teedee who lives in the U.K. (shoutouts to him) it made me nostalgic. I was now 23 with a whole lot of love, life and experience under my belt and I was like I owe it to my younger self to freak the hell out this beat. So I did.
What inspired you to write the lyrics in “Fiesta”?
The beat sort of spoke to me, we had a conversation, a mutual agreement about what needed to said. In addition, I felt like it was important to be assertive and sexually outspoken in a sensual way. Sex is seen a such a taboo but I want to embrace it in a Mariah Carey meets Dorothy Dandridge meets Saidah kind of way.
Who would be your dream collab?
My dream collab would be to get Ariana Grande and Tory Lanez with me on the same track. I think it would be so fire.
What's next for you?
Right now I am working on another mixtape but I’m super focused on performing so I can build my fan base. I hope to build something solid enough by the end of Fall so I can form a little tour this winter. It is Bodega Babe Season All Season For 4 Seasons after all lol. Thank you for having me.
Keep up with the artist on social media!
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SaidahSeye
Instagram: www.instagram.com/SaidahSeye