This week we sat down at Harlem’s renown Chocolat restaurant with Anu Sun, a Grammy award-winning engineer, producer, and artist. His latest album Sanguine Regum offers an introspective look into the issues of today’s society. He is currently performing at The Blue Note as a part of Robert Glasper’s month-long residency, and our “sit down” revealed some fascinating pieces to the journey of this multi-talented artist.
Thank you for sitting down with Occhi Magazine and congratulations on the Grammy!
Thank You… I appreciate that!
Watching you work on social media, we’ve gotten to see you track live drums. What was the progression from percussionist to the artist that you are today?
Well, I was always a drummer. I played drums in high school. I then went to Arizona State on a football scholarship and the arts got pushed back. I graduated and played two years of pro ball in Canada. Afterward, my God Father Lionel Hampton hit me up and said: “I want you to come out to New York and be my assistant, I need you out here.”
I was like ok, but he said that he needed me in New York by the end of the week. This was ‘98, so I came. He was the one who bought me drums when I was younger, so he asked me about my music. I told him that I was rusty and didn’t have it anymore. He was the one who told me when you have it you have it. “You just have to start playing again.” He bought me another set of drums and I started playing again, taking the rust off. I then started programming drums, doing spoken word around the city. This was around 2002. I soon started emerging as an artist working with the backing bands, which is how I ran into Robert Glasper while he was working with Bilal. We started intersecting at different music venues. It went from me being a spoken word artist, to a rapper artist, to a neo-soul artist. I was also always working with Robert on his projects. Doing sample chopping, engineering parts here and there, soon evolving into production. We just kept our relationship over time. Somehow when you put your face in the dirt and grind man you look up… and you’re here.
Your album, Sanguine Regume (Blood of Kings) rips the scab off of the wounds of racism that still exist today. You tackle the Kaepernick situation on KAEPtain AmeriKKKa and the Trayvon Martin tragedy with No Son, which is brilliantly done. How supportive was your record label with you diving straight into the issues without restraint?
The project was already done before I brought it to Ropeadope. They’re just a label like that. If they like what you’re about as an artist, you pretty much turn your project in and they ride with you. They’ll put it out there, support you and have your back. They’re an artist’s label. They let you do what you do. They don’t try to curb it because they know that we’re speaking to the times.
Thank you for providing artists with a live venue to perform at your monthly creation, The Shed. What should we expect from your shows coming up at The Blue Note?
My jam session The Shed is organic. We create on the spot. The jam session was created to find emerging musicians and artists. We would create things that would feed me musically. I get bored with what’s social norm and what’s “poppin’.” The show is going to be a jam, with me playing music from the album but also we’re going to continue that throw line of J Dilla. We’re gonna be playing some Dilla stuff, but I’m also going to be featuring artists that I found at my jam session The Shed, letting them come up and get some shine. That’s important to me. Whenever I get light, I try to give it back to some people that are coming up through the ranks.
Anu Sun will be at The Blue Note for two nights: October 25th and 26th. The Shed is a monthly jam session hosted by Anu Sun.
For further information on Anu Sun please visit his Ropeadope page
Sanguine Regum is available on Apple Music. Our recommended track is Afro Blue
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