Artist Profile: Sefu
Sefu, a Houston-born rapper and producer, continues to develop in his craft with each successive project he releases, utilizing his ear for unique samples and ability to conjure lyrics from the depths of each instrumental.
However, as a child, he never truly thought he would be a rapper. He grew up listening to his parents’ music, including Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson.When he did listen to rap, his explorations mostly centered around more abstract acts from the ‘90s and ‘00s, including MF DOOM, Sugar Hill Gang, LL Cool J, Kanye, J Dilla, and Lil Wayne.
As a highschooler, he was mostly focused on athletics. A basketball and track star, Sefu didn’t start considering rap as a fully viable pursuit until the Covid-19 pandemic forced him into a period of self-reflection and, ultimately, creative expression.
“I feel like when you grow up as a kid, that innate sense of knowing you're able to go somewhere: just confidence. You know, [people] just don't hone in on it, and whatever happens in life happens. Then they end up looking at somebody else who really sacrifices and dedicates themselves to it, and they see something so crazy that they could’ve seen in themselves.”
After choosing his artistic alias (Sefu means “sword” in Swahili), he released his first project, Abraham, using material he recorded near the end of his time in high school.
However, it was Stars Are Born in Pairs, his third release on streaming, that brought him both an audience and a full confidence in his output.
In addition to his introspective rhymes, most prominently featured on the project is Sefu’s ability to take samples, whether they are obscure or well-known, and transform them entirely.
He says that he writes his lyrics after chopping the sample, constructing the beat, and sitting with it for a while. As a result, his lyrics are obviously not only tailored to the foundational sample of the track but also directly tied to its emotions or timbre. While he does not methodically search for samples like some producers, he has a deep faith in his ability to pull from his vast musical knowledge when the moment arrives.
“The parts that I like about a song are always in my head. I feel like they're so concrete that when I hear something that's even a sort of a part of a thousand piece puzzle.… It's like the back of my hand, where if I know I really practice like how to express and get it out.. I feel like I always find the right songs or I always remember the right things at the right time, like a puzzle piece.”
His most recent project, Dark Night Soul, takes this practice even further, and, combined with the enhanced polishing and mixing he has learned to employ, the album serves as a display of his growth as an artist over the past four years.
He describes his output as a garden insofar as its diversity has allowed, over time, for it to bear fruit, and, as he continues to develop in his craft, it is certain that this garden will continue to bloom to the accompaniment of his unique sonic interplay.
