Posted on 10/30/2009
One can rattle off a slew of descriptions regarding the music industry, but no one’s about to identify this business as a kind one. When bullshit politics and trend-driven pseudo-movements are the law of the land, it’s not surprising when artists announce their retirement plans along with their debut album release date.

So it’s a bit refreshing to see someone like Shafiq Husayn – a man who’s been hovering below the radar while making music for over two decades – stick to his guns when it comes to crafting his artistic identity. After earning production credits in the early ‘90s on projects by artists like Ice-T and Lord Finesse, Shafiq went on to form Sa-Ra Creative Partners Production Company with fellow musicians/producers Taz Arnold and Om’Mas Keith. The eclectic and free-spirited Sa-Ra sound (based heavily around live instrumentation and a loose, Dilla-like aesthetic) has garnered Shafiq and his partners both praise and the condemning designation of ‘some weird shit.’

“There’s a difference between the ‘music industry’ and the people who actually make the music,” Shafiq reflects from a hotel room in New York City during the week of CMJ. He’s in town to promote his solo debut album Shafiq En’ A-Free-Ka on Plug Research, performing at a showcase with label mates Bilal and Exile. “I’m a writer, and I always will be, and that has nothing to do with the music industry. That’s the premise that I operate on, and that state of mind that I create from allows me to ignore the expectations of others. That spirit carries over into the music.”

“It keeps me sane, because the music industry will drive you nuts,” he continues. “If you don’t have patience and can’t understand process, the music industry is not the place for you to be at. And if you are going to make music with the ‘industry’ in mind, then you can also prepare to have an even shorter career in this business.”



Shafiq En’ A-Free-Ka is the soundtrack to its creator’s liberated perspective. “The concept behind this album is being around free spirits – freedom of the mind, and the way that that freedom is reflected in the music,” he says. “A lot of times, in music and in all walks of life, people are just trying to find themselves.”

“I don’t think that there’s a border for what makes music ‘weird.’ Let’s take a look, for instance, at Common’s Electric Circus. The same ones that ragged him out for that are the same ones that you read about in the blogs talking about how nobody is taking it to the next level,” Shafiq notes.

His interpretation of ‘the next level’ is scattered throughout the record, with more than 30 musicians and vocalists interwoven throughout a collage of African rhythms, sloppy drums, live horns and strings, densely layered synthesizers, and an overall mystic haze that should be instantly familiar to Sa-Ra’s followers. With plans to tour with his A-Free-Ka band and production work on upcoming releases for Bilal and Erykah Badu just around the corner, music lovers across the board will have plenty of opportunities to tune in to Shafiq’s flourishing and forward-thinking creativity.

“I was misquoted in another interview about a quote that Quincy Jones said, and I don’t want someone to think that I was trying to take credit for it. Quincy said, ‘hip hop mastered the beat, but we didn’t take it to the next level with arrangement,’” he says. “And it’s true. Out of all the musical forms of the 20th century, hip hop brought the beat to the forefront, in a way so that any musical style that comes forth now is going to be predicated on the standard that we set; the Marley Marls, the Pete Rocks, the J-Dillas, the ?uestloves. But the first person who goes all in with arrangement and changes it for real, that’s going to be the king.”

-Sean Kantrowitz

For more Shafiq Husayn, check out Shafiq's "Cheeba (Remix)" featuring Bilal, prod. by Nottz.

Also, be sure to pick up Shafiq's Shafiq En’ A-Free-Ka today, either at Amazon or iTunes.