Scarborough up-and-comer Savadouchi just released a brand new CJ-directed video for the track “Black Out” (produced by JayTrillBeats). This song comes to us as a turning point for Savadouchi as he comes to terms with mourning his best friend’s death and realizing his relationship with alcohol is pretty messed up.
The title “Black Out” is – obviously – in reference to black out drinking and getting so loaded up that you can’t remember anything that’s happened to you. Facts. Savadouchi and squad used to be called “The Black Out Boys” because they always drank so much. But the title is also in reference to the passing of time and how Savadouchi fears he will eventually forget the memories he had with his best friend.
Savadouchi uses this song to air out everything that’s going on in his head, as well as to own up to everything he’s done that he’s ashamed of. It’s a raw song with an equally raw accompanying visual. The video kicks off at the grave site for Savadouchi’s best friend, and that sets the tone for the rest of the video. From there, Savadouchi takes us into an apartment loaded up with liquor and weed; a nod to his continuous battle with substances. Then the video takes us out into Scarborough Bluffs, where Savadouchi gives the nod to the Borough he’s lived in his entire life.
Check out the “Black Out” video, and scope our first ever in-depth interview with Savadouchi below.
Q&A: Savadouchi
HipHopCanada: Start off by telling me what this track means to you on a personal level.
Savadouchi: This track means a lot to me on a personal level because when my best friend was alive, he hated the fact that I would always get into fights and he knew that it was because of my temper and alcohol. My best friend was the total opposite of me. He was really positive about everything, barely drank, never fought, and would always preach positivity in the songs he would make. This song represents the things he didn’t want me to do and I guess it’s a way of admitting to him that I am sorry and that things have worsened ever since he died.
HipHopCanada: Talk to me about the role alcohol plays in all of this, and the significance of the title “Black Out.”
Savadouchi: Alcohol plays a big role in this because I’ve noticed my temper is really bad when I drink. Not towards my friends or family but – for example – the guys in clubs who brush me, or talk smack to me while I’m drunk. I’m very protective towards my loved ones when I am sober so you can imagine how protective I am once I get a couple of drinks in me. The word “Black Out” is really important because as bad as this sounds, people who knew my friends and I would call us “the black out boys”… due to the fact that whenever they see us out at a club we’re always the group of people who are wild and really intoxicated. “Black Out” has a deeper meaning for me though; waking up not remembering anything the night before is not a good feeling. Especially if it happens multiple times. That’s how I feel every morning when I wake up even though I was not intoxicated the night before. And the reason as to why I feel like this is because I miss my best friend everyday. And waking up every morning since the day he passed is equivalent to the feeling I get when I black out during those wild nights, because I feel as if the good times I had with him when he was alive will never happen again. And it’s as if I blacked out during those times because now all I have is some memories with him. And the worst part is I don’t remember a lot of them and I know as time goes by, some of those memories will fade away.
HipHopCanada: Explain the significance of each of the locations you shot this video at.
Savadouchi: The very first part of the video was at my best friend’s grave site, and obviously this is significant because everything I do with my life now is for my brother (best friend) who died. The scenes where I am inside an apartment sitting by the table with liquor and marijuana in front of me is significant because those are the things that contribute to my stupid decisions and disrespectful actions. This is something I am trying to get away from. It’s the hurdle I have to get through. The last scenes were shot at the Scarborough Bluffs and this is significant because I am from Scarborough. And as bad as it used to be, I am still proud that I am from here and I’ve lived here all my life up to this point.
HipHopCanada: I feel like this song serves as a turning point for you… it’s like a reflection into your past mistakes, but also a commentary on you trying to get more in-touch with your spirituality. Talk to me about that.
Savadouchi: This song does serve as a turning point for me. After I made this song I started to gradually slip away from drinking every week – not drastically – but I am on my path of progression. I made this song because one night I was just tired of the way I was living and the way I was treating some of the people around me. And I felt as if I was disappointing my best friend. This can represent as one page of my journal (hypothetically speaking) where I pour my heart and soul onto the paper; pointing out all the wrong things I’ve been doing ever since my brother passed away. I started realizing that I am not the person I want to be. And the thing is… I used to listen to rappers like Kendrick Lamar, and J.Cole who are really spiritual. But I started fading away from that and started to listen to music that had to do more with violence. The music I would listen to would always represent the way I am feeling during that period of time in my life, but recently I’ve been listening to more dark songs. You can also tell because most of the songs I have made so far have a dark instrumental and the lyrics are usually me spilling my emotions and the bad things that have been happening to me. I sing out “free my soul” a lot of times in the song because I don’t want to stray away from the path towards God, and by freeing my soul means to free my demons and for God to never give up on me.
HipHopCanada: Tell me the story behind how you met JayTrillBeats and wound up collaborating on this, and tell me about your process for creating this track.
Savadouchi: I haven’t met JayTrillBeats in person, but a friend of mine showed me some of his beats on YouTube. I found this beat and I was so amazed by it because I knew my vocals would sound great on it. So I emailed JayTrillBeats and he said I can use it as long as I credit him. So in the description of the music video it says that he is the one who created the beat.
Interview conducted by Sarah Jay for HipHopCanada
