Sainté releases debut mixtape ‘Still Local’ (ft. Potter Payper, Lil Silva)

Sainté has today dropped his debut mixtape, Still Local, alongside a new video for focus track ‘Y2K’. A statement body of work from the much-loved Leicester MC, the project features surprise collaborations with Potter Payper, Lil Silva plus Draft Day and Chow Lee, in addition to widely-acclaimed singles ‘Tea Over Henny’ and ‘Stop Crying’. Sainté launched Still Local last night with an intimate, all-star release party at London’s Omeara, with live dates already confirmed across the summer such as All Points East and We Out Here festivals.

An unassuming vanguard of UK rap, on debut mixtape Sainté takes a step to the big leagues – but not without reminding listeners that he is, at heart, Still Local. A textured body of work that’s as sonically lavish as it is lyrically raw, the mixtape marks a young man pushing himself whilst refusing to depart from his ideals; whether that’s the commitment to his work ethic, harnessing of friends and family, or in navigating the positivity you deserve. It’s a spirit of community that is memorably captured in the mixtape artwork, shot in Leicester by legendary grime photographer Simon Wheatley.

In moments rapped, sung and somewhere in between, Still Local maps Sainté’s sound and story onto new territory: from the propulsive garage of Lil Silva collaboration ‘Safe’ – which acknowledges the turbulence of adolescence – to the warped, transatlantic soul of tracks like ‘Milwaukee’, ‘Route 64’ or ‘Y2K’ (“I need someone to show permanent love, until then I’m not opening up”). First single ‘Stop Crying’ 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). ‘Tea Over Henny’, meanwhile, paid tribute to life’s finer things (in this case, the simple pleasures of tea over the temptation of Cognac). Soundtracking an evolution in vulnerability and confidence, Still Local closes with ‘G’s Reign’ and a verse from the pioneer himself, Potter Payper: a feature that passes the generational torch, and also encapsulates the outlook of the project (“what’s a man without a purpose?”).

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 pandemic 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). DIY EPs Vacation, Out the Blue, and Local MVP have set Sainté on the road towards Still Local, 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 launches his debut mixtape and a new phase of his life with work that feels aspirational, authentic, and ambitious – new Sainté, Still Local. 

Sainté – Still Local

1. ‘Too Much’
2. ‘Tea Over Henny’
3. ‘Route 64’
4. ‘Stop Crying’
5. ‘Currency’ (ft. Draft Day)
6. Changing Me Interlude
7. ‘Fancy’ ft. Chow Lee
8. ‘Alone’
9. ‘Y2K’
10. ‘They’ll See’
11. ‘Love Is Deep’
12. ‘Safe’ (ft. Lil Silva)
13.  ‘Milwaukee’
14. ‘G’s Reign’ (ft. Potter Payper)