Artist: Asaviour
Song:  “Sucker or Savvy.”
Album: The A-Loop Theory

For the past few years Asaviour has been mashin’ up London’s hip-hop scene. Whenever he hits the stage with is boy Jehst, two of  the UK’s top five are in the house. With one great album, The Borrowed Ladder, under his belt Asaviour teamed with DJ IQ to make the A-Loop Theory, an album that is bold in both ambition and execution.. Benz hopped the pond to chop it up with Asaviour about The A-Loop Theory’s first single, “Sucker or Savvy.”

How did the concept for “Sucker or Savvy” come to be?

Well I've been known as Asaviour from the beginning of my career but over the years the name Savvy has come into the mix, I used Savvy as a sort of "note to self" and also as an acknowledgement of my growth as an artist, person and I guess hustler, I guess its just because I've become Savvy (to a degree) to a few different aspects of the music industry & life. I understand better about what it takes to make good music and how to get it heard, even just navigating the people within the industry. Some people are cool, some people aren't, so it’s extremely important you surround yourself with the right people. There's a saying look at the 5 closest people around you, and that's you! If you don't like what you see you gotta change who you surround yourself with.


How did this song progress from idea to finished track?

I think one night I was on the way back from a gig and we had a Clinton Sparks Mixtape on (The one Hosted by Ghostface Killa) and that Nas track def anniversary track came on and he spat the line. "would you say I was sucker or say I was savvy" that just propelled the concept and I went from there.

This is how I write, I start with a lose concept in my head. I map the idea in my head for a while, let it bubble around. Then put it down once it starts to become more of a solid idea. I wanted to write something about aiming for your dreams but I didn't want to take the standard approach, I wanted to have a number a angles in the one track: self confidence vs self doubt, questioning myself, questioning you, and so on.

Was this joint conceived before or after work started on the “A-Loop Theory?”

By the time I got round to doing “Sucker or Savvy,” IQ and myself had already decided to make the album together. Strange thing about that track is that I never put pen to paper. I did some Jigga shit and just spat it all from the head. Once I started spitting it all just flowed out.


Did the ‘pen-less’ approach lead to any filler lines in the track? Anything you wish you could re-spit?

As I didn't pen this to paper my approach was slightly different compared to some of the other tracks on the album. Re-spit though? I dunno. I guess what's done is done. It is what it is. I can pick away at semantics but I think the track captures a moment and coveys my perspectives and emotion and I guess that is all I can ask for.


How did the beat come together?

The beat was made by me. I found some orchestral stabs, the horns that drive the track,  then played the other music with a synth. Then I sat down with IQ and he suggested we bring a sax player, Lewis Cooper and a trumpet player by the name of Pete Horsfall to play the music live. Finally we hollered at a viola player called Ella Baruch to put the icing on the cake


Why was it picked for the lead single?

I guess the reason it was the lead single is the fact that it encompasses everything we do. The concept of the track is bigger than Hip Hop, let alone the concept of the album. Its about following dreams regardless of were you want to take yourself.


http://www.myspace.com/thealooptheory