Just before Halloween 2010, Sayzee (who spelled his name ‘Sese’ at that point) launched the first volume of his cornerstone mixtape series, YFRWN or Your Favourite Rappers Worst Nightmare. Inspired by Freddy Krueger and the A Nightmare on Elm Street film series, YFRWN has gone a long way towards building Sayzee’s ever-growing fan-base, and showcasing his immense arsenal of musical talent.
Now, more than 7 years after the series started off, we’re thrilled to bring you the premiere of the latest: installment to the series: YFRWN4, presented by NewAgeSound.
YFRWN4 was executive produced by Kevin Rolly, who also produced four of the 12 songs on the mixtape including Sayzee’s “Panama” single which has surpassed 175K streams on Spotify. Other producers on the mixtape include Bloodicy, Daniel Worthy, Snaz, 81, MDKNIGHT, and more. Guest appearances were handled by New York rapper Lil Eto, P Dollaz and Awol.
Sayzee is celebrating the release of YFRWN4 tonight inside Stori Nightclub (95 King St. E – Toronto). We recently sat down with him briefly to ask about the release party, the mixtape itself, working with Kevin Rolly, and more.
You can find the Q&A below along with a stream of the tape via SoundCloud. YFRWN4 is available on Apple Music, Spotify and other digital outlets.
Original artwork by Hal Hefner
Sayzee – YFRWN4
Q&A: Sayzee
HipHopCanada: What was the original inspiration for the YFRWN series?
Sayzee: Most definitely Freddy Kruger. The Nightmare. The whole shit.
HipHopCanada: When did you make the decision to expand the series beyond a trilogy?
Sayzee: It was never a conscious decision. The fans kept asking for it. So I kept making instalments in the series. Fluke shit.
HipHopCanada: In terms of movie genres, where do you rank horror flicks?
Sayzee: They’re my favourite genre. Ever since I was a kid, I loved those low budget, high gore horror movies.
HipHopCanada: You brought in Kevin Rolly to Executive Produce YFRWN4 and to handle mixing and mastering. How did that relationship come about?
Sayzee: I think the first time I had heard his name, he had mixed a record for me and Yung Tory. Then I was working with Dutch Revz a lot, and they happen to be roommates. And the rest is just history.
HipHopCanada: What’s your favourite song on the project? Why?
Sayzee: “Castlevania” is my personal favourite. It’s produced by Snaz. I just like the vibe and the way it worked out. It wasn’t intentionally made for YFRWN4, but I felt it had the vibe. It’s a dope track.
HipHopCanada: Can you touch on The Mega Villain Saga?
Sayzee: So I had the original Saga taken down from the digital stores. When I tried to reupload them under my new spelling (Sayzee) they rejected them. My DM was blowing up with people asking why I removed them. So I said fuck it. Make a Mega Saga. 23 tracks of nerd shit. Enjoy.
HipHopCanada: What can people expect from the release party?
Sayzee: An unsavoury mess. Basically debotchory at its finest.
HipHopCanada: Any new music videos coming in support of YFRWN4?
Sayzee: I’m trying to shoot for at least 6 of the tracks. I’ve been super lazy but I’m bout to get it going again. I got ideas.
HipHopCanada: What else is planned for 2018?
Sayzee: Killing rappers, all year. Dropping music in between. I have a Dragon Ball super project half done. An EP with Kevin Rolly. An EP With MDKNIGHT. An EP with Snaz, Dame Grease and Wave Gang Canada. It’s NewAgeSound. I’m just working like I should be.
HipHopCanada: What Canadian artists are you listening to right now?
Sayzee: K-Money. Pressa. Drake.
Follow @SayzeeSoyaSauce on Twitter, and make sure you check out the new mixtape on Apple Music.