K.D. and D.T., of the gay hip-hop duo Sgt. Sass, met at the Art Institute, dropped out, started a rap group and are now on the verge of being (row)household names.
Have you ever stumbled upon something that gives you a glimpse into the future of Awesome? Like Tectonic Dancing or the Hipster Olympics? Well, that's how we felt when we met K.D. and D.T. Of course, there was no stumbling involved. Ugh has hundreds of research monkeys searching the web and all media outlets for the newest and best of all things Philadelphia. That's a fact. The monkeys have even gotten together and started a dance nation that will be battling Club Lyfestile this weekend at R.U.B.A., hopefully making that ish hole fun again. But of course the inner workings of Ugh News are of no interest here...
So here's what you've been waiting for, bitches. Meet Sgt. Sass...
(Left to right, K.D. and D.T)
The Interview
Conrad: How did Sgt. Sass develop? Who inspires your music?
DT: The concept of Sgt. Sass started out in the living room our apartment around 2004.
We didn't start taking it serious until January of this year.
KD: At the time we were asking ourselves "why aren't there any gay rappers in the Philadelphia area. Other major cities like New York, LA, for example, have a strong gay rap scenes. Why not Philadelphia? When it comes to hip-hop I find my inspiration in Biggie, Missy Elliot, Rakim, Busta Rhymes, Lil' Kim. The list goes on and on!
DT: Whoa. I think we have same inspirations!
C: In your song “Faggot Snappin'”, you talk about using the word faggot because it's used against you. How big of a problem is homophobia in Philadelphia?
DT: I think homophobia in Philadelphia is just as visible as any other discriminatory acts in our daily lives. If you are something that a large group people are against, there are going to be haters regardless.
KD: We made "Faggot Snappin'" to embrace the word faggot. Homophobia is a problem, period. We have to own it!
C: Where does this homophobia come from? Why do you think it is so pervasive in hip-hop music?
DT: I think this is a very broad question to ask. I believe everyone knows the answer to it - it steams from fear. Fear, that is nine times out of ten, related to religious beliefs. If you are taught something for generations and generations, if you hear it in the home from people you love and respect, then you start to believe it. Yeah, there's a point in everyone lives where they start to think for their own - outside of what they were taught as young children. But, most people still continue to think inside that narrow box. That's where I believe homophobia comes from. Wow, you're really making my head spin right now. I feel like this is queer black studies course that I am teaching. Pervasive, true. I believe it is prevalent because for generations in the black community there has always been this issue of masculine vs. feminine, mostly steaming from religious beliefs and everything else that I stated about where I think homophobia comes from. Ok, I'm done.
KD: Amen, child. You were about to go off!
C: VIP had a lot of novelty, and that got people interested. You rap harder, no doubt, but the majority of your songs are wrapped in gay rhetoric. How are you different?
KD: We represent what is truly hip-hop. We represent ourselves, queer black men.
DT: My head is still spinning from the previous question.
C: Can you see yourselves playing traditional hip-hop venues in Philly? Would you perceive any problems?
KD: Yes and yes. But, I ain't never scared. I wouldn't be doing this if I were scared of rejection. If you say you are a gay rapper, people - gay or straight - are
going to give you a dirty look. It wouldn't be truly hip-hop if we we're scared of any venue.
DT: Honestly, we're not catering to the traditional hip-hop world. We're catering to queer people that love hip-hop music. If any traditional hip-hop persons jump on the SS bandwagon, that's cool. We'll rock Power House.
C: In your interview with PW, you said, that although you won't buy from a homophobic rapper, like 50 Cent, you still listen to their music. Why support them at all?
KD: I will listen to any artist that has something to say about where they came from. I'm not going to like everything they say. Just like they wouldn't like everything that I have to say. But, we're from the same type of hood, grew up listening to the same types of music so why not listen. The only thing that is different is what we do behind closed doors.
DT: Well, seriously, I only buy female rappers' albums. Oh wait, I copped that Pharrell mixtape. He's sort of queer, in the technical sense.
C: Who are some gay-friendly rappers to listen to?
DT: I just read an article in HX about Eve and she loves us, honey!
KD: Missy Elliott - I mean, damn, whatever floats your boat.
C: Can you talk about what you write in your songs?
DT: We write about our everyday lives or about what we want to achieve in this life. That's true hip-hop. We don't lie, period. That's out of pocket. I like writing when my emotions are soaring uncontrollably. Everything from ex-boyfriends to that bitch that looked at me the wrong way in H&M or about all the mad blunts we smoke. Ya dig?
KD: We try to keep it real as possible. I've written about my sex game to my bitch of a roommate. Whatever the hell I'm going through at the moment is what I write about. I use this as an artistic release. Hopefully, someone will relate to it.
C: What does creating a song look like? Do you find a track first then rhyme over it? Or do you write some lyrics and find a beat to mirror them? How is it produced?
DT: We do everything. It's all inspiration. At first it was about finding our favorite tracks to rap over so we could prove to y'all we ain't playing around. It's typical in the hip-hop world to rap over other industry beats. I write all the time. I can write on the dime. It don't matter. As for finding a beat to mirror them, you can rap over any beat as long as you have a flow. It's natural rhythm. Currently, Johnny Woods, Steven Bloodbath, and Moblin have produced for us. Originals, baby. Sometimes we play around with the equipment too.
KD: We try to challenge ourselves as rap artists in different ways with different concepts in production. We don't want to repeat what we have done with tracks before. We want to stay fresh. We already stand out!
C: Where do you want Sgt. Sass to be in a year?
KD: Full length album, tour, and Logo!
DT: Ditto.
C: Ok.. on a lighter note, what kind of guys are you into? Are you single?
DT: I'm single. But, I don't like guys. That's gay.
KD: (laughs)
What's your Ugh-pinion on...
Nationalized health care?
DT: I have sickle cell anemia and it's so hard to get health insurance. I could go on about this issue for bit but I won't. It's just fucked that we don't have nationalized health care!
KD: Does that mean free like Canada?
Hillary vs. Obama?
DT: Both!
KD: Yeah, and let them draw straws to see who gets on top!
Philly's gay scene?
DT: I was going to say that I was over it. Personally, I still don't identify myself with it. But, lately, I've come to respect it more. We're here, we're queer - get use to it!
KD: I respect any gay scene. As long as we work on unity! There is no reason why shouldn't all get along and support each other.
DT: OOOOOOOKKKKKKKKKKKK!
Want more Sgt Sass? Click here to go to their Myspace for songs and show listings. Also, Philebrity has posted SS's "Homo Homies"(Baltimore remix), or watch dem faggots rap over Mims "This is why I'm hot" from Pridefest, below.
Written by Conrad Benner, Photos by Karen Kirchoff
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