The FADER's weekly column What Rules highlights one of our office's new obsessions.
Sugg Savage only has four solo songs out right now, but each and every one of them will blast a little bit of your smiling soul into another dimension. The Fort Washington, Maryland artist first gained attention a few years ago while making music as part of a hip-hop duo called Akoko, but since 2015 has been dropping insanely great one-off gems via her Soundcloud and Bandcamp pages.
On her tracks, she seamlessly bounces between light, brightly-delivered rap and a soul-soaked, ’90s-informed R&B all while weaving in and out of shimmering dance production brought to life by a dream home team of DMV producers like Mister Neek, Hymn, and Lance Neptune. The joy in these songs washes over you from start to finish, and is perhaps best explained by her self-created genre markers on Soundcloud: “#Spirit Bounce,” “#Lowkey Gospel,” and “#Midnight Boogie.”
As Sugg shared in an interview with the podcast For The Culture, she's been surrounded by and making music for most of her life. She picked up piano and guitar at a young age and grew up listening to soul, soca, reggae, dancehall and calypso (the latter four thanks in large part to her Trini father's tastes). As a proud resident of P.G. County, D.C.’s own legendary music scene proved influential on Sugg as well. Her spin on her diverse audio intake is incredible, especially combined with her spiritual side; her lyrics are often centered around praise and her desire to see more inclusion and love in the world. “#Lowkey Gospel” for real.
While we wait on more from Sugg Savage, get familiar with her music below starting with her most recent release, May 31’s “Fill In The Blank,” and peep the Unkle Luc-directed video for 2015’s “Funk Bounce” above.
From The Collection:
What Rules Right Now