Every so often, a group of dudes comes along whose personalities are so bombastic that you’d really love to dismiss them as delusional self-promoters, only their music is as grandiose as their image-branding. That’s Sa-Ra. Om’Mas Keith, Taz Arnold and Shafiq Husayn make up the collective Sa-Ra Creative Partners. They’ve been on the scene since their quirky work for Jurassic 5’s Power In Numbers, then a string of production work and space-cadet vocals for artists from Pharaohe Monche to The Neptunes. In late April, they dropped their first full-length LP, The Hollywood Recordings, a Bridge album with guest vocalists running the gamut of black music, but rarely overshadowing their dank, titillating production. According to them, it’s the beginning of a hostile takeover. And the thing is: these three dudes really believe they’re going to conquer the world!
Take for instance this grand proclamation from Om’Mas, perhaps the brashest of the three (and that’s saying something), during my conversation with the collective: “We want to be one of the top companies producing music in the world and the top drawing tour group.”
Any group can sound a little ridiculous voicing these ambitions, especially one that minutes earlier had described their pre-album release media blitz as a mission to “… saturate all the tastemaker and hipster scenes.” Tastemakers and hipsters can bring artists cult followings, but not the type of broad devotees of more accessible music and by accessible I mean, Black Eye Peas or Backstreet Boys. The fact is that everything about Sa-Ra says “hipster”, from their music (the dissonant, draconian vocal harmonies and naked, often abstract, lyrics) to the fashion they purvey, which screams East Village boutique as opposed to mega mall. But then you realize that The Neptunes’ sound, fashion and ideology were just as counter-culture when they skated on the scene in the late 90s. Now, there is no bigger production team than Chad and Pharrell. And Om’Mas, sensing a little incredulity when I asked if the squad’s aspirations were feasible, pointed to Gnarls Barkley as an example of an odd outfit miraculously connecting with the masses, who turned out in droves for their concerts. To Om’Mas and Shafiq and Taz, if it can happen, they’ll make it happen.
“We’ve sat back and postulated on why this sh*t is gonna work,” says Om’Mas.
Shafiq advises skeptics to recall the period in the 70s, when the George Clinton-led Parliament/Funkadelic was running thangs. Again, a deft comparison, since both Sa-Ra’s sound and subject matter can be seen as the newer contemporary version of all those 70s space travelers, groups whose head-scratching aura and purposed oddities – almost as much as their sensory-overloaded, mass-textured funk – was the draw.
“A lot of these musicians are directly affected by Sa-Ra. I just have to say that, just so people know how real it is with Sa-Ra,” another grandiose statement from Om’Mas when asked of his opinion of fellow Bridge acts like Georgia Anne Muldrow and the Platinum Pied Pipers, artists with which Sa-Ra has linked. “We’re showing everybody that you can be free and not limited within your scope and range.”
He has a point, too. Everyone from Dr. Dre to Kanye West has commented on Sa-Ra’s trailblazing nature. Kanye was so impressed that he signed the trio to G.O.O.D. Music where they planned to release Black Fuzz, until G.O.O.D.’s distribution deal was cancelled when parent company Sony Urban folded. This led to Sa-Ra’s partnering with indie label Babygrande to release The Hollywood Recordings – a move they said gave them even more freedom to indulge their eclectic tastes.
This eclecticism is on full display throughout Hollywood, which is why they say it will appeal to “jazz heads, hip hoppers, white girls on the Lower East Side that like to sniff blow” - basically everyone… that counts, that is.
“We’re the putty. We join all this music together. We bridge the gap between your Mama and her kids,” says Om’Mas.
You can chalk up this accessibility to the individuality of the three-piece team. According to Om’Mas, Shafiq is the B-boy that brings the grit and funk and fundamental knowledge of what’s hot music. Shafiq says Om’Mas contributes the grasp of music theory, harmony and lyricism which comes from his classical training. Taz provides a star’s approach to being in the limelight.
“You put us together and you get this complete picture,” says Shafiq.
At the beginning of “Rosebuds”, one of many numbers on Recordings seemingly obsessed with erotica, a heliumed-voice skeptic (reminiscent of Sir Nose from P-Funk mythology), asks Sa-Ra, “Can y’all niggas get down, though?” It was a fitting question, after he already incredulously scoffed at the notion of “cosmic dust” and wondered how to even pronounce the group’s name. Sa-Ra will deal with a lot of that throughout their career. The answer to the question about “getting’ down” is in the music. Yes, these dudes get down…all the way down.
