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by People’s Minister of Information JR Valrey, SF Bay View Oakland Bureau
Kenyatta2Saucey is a dope vocalist I met at Pillow Sesh, the weekly artist showcase in East Oakland a few weeks back. She sang her song “Green Light,” an infectious party anthem that got stuck in my head. From her brief set, I picked up instantly that she is a party-rocker with a lot of great energy, whose music is for dancing and partying with friends.
There is a lane for everybody, and with the world being in such turmoil from the white terrorist shootings in New York and Texas, the government lying about the effectiveness and the effects of the Covid vaccines, people being murdered and displaced in wars in Somalia, Ukraine, Syria, Yemen and in the South Pacific, the ever growing Black homeless situation in the Bay Area, and hyper inflation in the U.S. with us paying record breaking amounts of money for gas and food, we need to sometimes lose ourselves and escape into some good sounding music.
Kenyatta2Saucey will be performing at the Black New World Party on Tuesday, May 31, at Zanzi’s in Oakland. Until then, check her out in her own words.
JR Valrey: Where are you from and how did you get into music?
Kenyatta2Saucey: I am from Deep East Oakland. I have been performing all my life. I started singing in the church, children’s choir, around the age of 5. After getting so much praise from the church and my peers, I started writing my own lyrics and the rest is history, lol.
JR Valrey: You have a unique sound; how did you form it, and who inspired it?
Kenyatta2Saucey: Thank you! Well like I said, I started singing in church, which was music with live instruments; therefore, some of my songs have that “live sound.” There’s some songs where a piano or guitar is the lead instrument in the beat. Also I listen to artists like Alicia Keys, Mary J Blige, Summer Walker and Ariana Grande, so they definitely played a part in my music.
JR Valrey: How would you describe the type of music that you make?
Kenyatta2Saucey: The type of music that I make is everywhere, lol. The only cohesiveness in my music is that it’s all RnB. I’ve made RnB Soul, RnB Pop, RnB Hiphop etc. The era of music that I’m on right now, is RnB Pop. This type of music is more fun and warm hearted. It makes you want to bust a move.
JR Valrey: What kind of production do you like to make music over?
Kenyatta2Saucey: My production is whatever speaks to me. So if the beat is fast, I want it to be kinda loud and fun, and if it’s slower, then I want it to be kinda soft and emotional. It really just depends on the mood that I’m in.
JR Valrey: Can you describe your creative process? What puts you in the mood to be creative?
Kenyatta2Saucey: When I start to write music, I first go on various websites to find beats. I can’t even start to write if the beat doesn’t speak to me. If I don’t automatically start humming or saying some words in the first couple seconds, I’m flipping to the next beat.
Once I find one that speaks to me, I just start writing everything that comes to head. Once I put down all I can, I start to move lines around to make verses, hook, chorus, bridge, whatever I think the song needs. Finally I just sing it out loud. If it sounds good, then I’m done; if I feel something’s off, then it’s back to the drawing board.
JR Valrey: How do you want people to feel after hearing your music?
Kenyatta2Saucey: After hearing my music I want people to feel a little bit better than they did before they listened to my music. I make a lot of positive, uplifting music because I’d like to say I’m a positive person, and I want others to be positive too.
Trust me, I have times where I fall into depression, but I am blessed to have people around me to bring good energy, to bring me back to where I’m supposed to be. A lot of people don’t have that. There’s already too much hatred and negativity in the world. If I make a positive song, and that one person that is going through hard times hears it and starts to feel good, then that’s one more person that I was there for and that I could help.
JR Valrey: Why do you choose to sing more than rap these days?
Kenyatta2Saucey: I actually like to say that I’m more of an entertainer than a singer or rapper. This is because my music is not in one box. Sometimes when I perform, it sounds like I’m singing, and sometimes it sounds like I’m rapping. Either way you’re definitely being entertained!
JR Valrey: What are you currently working on? What’s the release date?
Kenyatta2Saucey: Currently, I’m working on an RnB soul song called “Venus.” It definitely gives off the vibe of old school KBLX. Also I still haven’t dropped one of my favorite songs “Piñyatta.” That song is definitely dropping in June.
JR Valrey: How could people keep up with you online?
Kenyatta2Saucey: People can keep up with me online with instagram @Kenyatta2saucey. I post all of my music and shows on there.
JR Valrey, journalist, author, filmmaker and founder of Black New World Media, heads the SF Bay View’s Oakland Bureau. He can be reached at blockreportradio@gmail.com or on Facebook. Visit www.BlackNewWorldMedia.com to read more.
