written and photographed by Morian Mikhail
Morian Mikhail: Let’s start at the beginning, where did you grow up and what initially brought you to skateboarding?
Sage Elsesser: Born and raised in Los Angeles, I moved to New York at age twelve. When I was four my father bought me a board, I fell in love immediately.
MM: Before Cherry it felt like Workshop was the one brand really pushing the most honest side of skateboarding while still being a conceptual brand and when Dill and AVE left it was FA leading that drive with Supreme, you’ve mentioned that you grew up on Dill’s skating how did it feel to end up being a key member in helping them build FA?
SE: It was a dream come true. There is a certain pride that comes with be- ing a part of something since the beginning stages, especially with people you love and admire.
MM: Later you made it more public that you were working on other mediums as well, primarily music. At what point did you realize you wanted to pursue music as your practice?
SE: I turned to writing raps and making music during a dark time at age 18. It was my therapy. I knew then that it would be my sacred place.
MM: In that process were there any artist that inspired you to tell your own story?
SE: When I was introduced to KA’s mu- sic by my brother Thebe, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my own. I felt every word. The production was simple and captivating. KA and Earl will always be my biggest inspirations.
MM: How did producing for and collaborating with other artists like Earl, Mike, and Wiki, just to name a few, shape how you wrote your own songs?
SE: Working with someone else is a gift. It is a shared space, and something I don’t don’t take for granted. Producing for the homies is the best, because you don’t necessarily want to write to every beat you make, sometimes you have someone in mind, and there is no better feeling than having that thought realized, when they rhyme to your beat.
MM:How has moving from your own label, Freedom Sounds, to a major and now back to your own, influenced your process? Is there a mindset switch?
SE: I am grateful to have had the experience of a major label, but independent is the way to go. I am back to being on my time.
MM: Do you have a daily routine you adhere to?
SE: Wake up and give thanks for my life.
MM: You share so much of yourself through your music and your visual art. Do you have something that you do for you, that you may or may not share?
SE: I write raps because it is therapy, not because I’m trying to make music. I also like to read.
MM: Where are you at with skateboarding on a personal level?
SE: I want to get back to it. I have fallen in and out of love with it over the past couple of years. I owe so much to skateboarding, and I’m looking forward to giving more of my time and energy to it.
MM: Where do you see yourself as an artist, in mediums outside of skateboarding, in the next 5 years? What’s the goal?
SE: I would love to share the entirety of my ideas, whether it’s in film, music, text, etc. The “album” is limiting, but also effective. The listener gets to have their own experience with the music. I would like to guide the listener/viewer to a more personal and specific place.