Sainté premieres new single, ‘Tea Over Henny’
Debut mixtape, Still local, announced for March 22nd
“One of UK rap’s bright young things” Dazed
“Leicester’s new wild card” Complex
“Lowkey, smooth…love, loss and the challenges of young adulthood” NME
“Nuanced sounds and considered bars…cautionary tales over laidback beats” Notion
“One of the most exciting emcees out of the UK in recent years” COLORS
“What can’t he do!…this guy is all about positivity” i-D
Sainté has today dropped brand new single & video ‘Tea Over Henny’. The hotly-tipped Leicester rapper has also confirmed details of debut mixtape Still Local, which will see a release on March 22nd and includes recent single ‘Stop Crying’. Sainté is among the first wave of artists announced for 2024’s All Points East and We Out Here festivals, with more new music and live plans expected soon.
‘Tea Over Henny’ is Sainté ruminating on his place in the world over psychotropic synths, introspective hip-hop, and a braggadocious flow paying tribute to life’s finer things (in this case, the simple pleasures of tea over the temptation of Cognac). “This song is really one of my favourites all round (so far),” says Sainté. “I feel like it’s one of those where the track, the production and the delivery is literally my personality. It’s been two years since I started taking music seriously, and I’m realising that whilst we’re young and just getting started, it’s too much to throw away: for a little fun on a night out, for lust, or anybody that ain’t trying to build with us or build for themselves. “I got my city flexing tea instead of Henny!”. You just gotta be yourself and know what type of time YOU ARE ON.”
In 2024, Sainté takes a step towards the big leagues – but not without reminding listeners that at heart, he is Still Local. A textured body of work that’s as sonically broad as it is lyrically raw, the MC’s debut mixtape marks a young man refusing to depart from his ideals — whether that’s the commitment to his work ethic, harnessing of friends and family, or in navigating the love and positivity you deserve. First single ‘Stop Crying’, for instance, is about being 100% yourself, accompanied by a darkly comic video in the style of ‘Get Out’ (also featuring a cameo from Leicester’s spiritual mascot, The Fox). An unassuming vanguard of UK rap, Still Local soundtracks an evolution in vulnerability and confidence through which Sainté still stands firmly out from the crowd.
Still Local is the latest chapter from Sainté’s unorthodox, unhurried rise to date. He first moved to Britain as an infant, and started to rap between his then-trajectory into professional basketball. As the lockdowns closed that window, another opened: Sainté’s music blew up instead, with viral hit ‘Champagne Shots’ earning him his first independent disc and a surprise call whilst working at Nando’s leading to his work soundtracking a show from the late Virgil Abloh. Having gone on to star in his own fashion campaigns for the likes of New Balance, Burberry and Jean Paul Gaultier, Sainté ultimately strives to stand at that cultural intersection where music, style or sport need not stay in their own lane. Today, he’s inspired by polymathic talents ranging from 50 Cent and Skepta to Sade (so much so he named a song after her). Widely acclaimed DIY EPs – Vacation, Out the Blue, and Local MVP – have set Sainté on the road towards his debut mixtape, on top of collaborations with the likes of Knucks, A2, Zack Bia and Miraa May. Having toured with Denzel Curry and Kenny Beats, word on Sainté has also bubbled far beyond his beloved neighbourhood – with over 300 million streams, and a sold-out European tour including a London show at Village Underground.
Although the potential is global, the future for Sainté is also right next-door (“there’s no way I’ve come from this sort of background and there’s not more of me here, deserving of opportunities”). He enters his debut mixtape and a new phase of his life with work that feels aspirational, authentic, and ambitious – new Sainté, Still Local.
