Check out the latest record from Vancouver-based Terell Safadi, “When I’m Drunk,” featuring BFR rapper Pressa.
We caught up with Terell to find out how the coast-to-coast collaboration came to be, and what the budding West Coast is up to next. You can find the exclusive Q&A below along with the stream for “When I’m Drunk.”
The single is available on Spotify, Apple Music, and other streaming outlets.
Q&A: Terell Safadi
HipHopCanada: Thanks for taking the time to connect with us about the new record. What was the inspiration behind “When I’m Drunk”?
Terell Safadi: The inspiration came from champagne and late nights with my girl (Laughs).
HipHopCanada: How did you connect with Pressa? Did you already have the foundation of the song laid before you got him involved, or was he part of the plan from the start?
TS: Pressa was in Vancouver recording at one of the studios I record at. He was working on his Press a Brick project. He would be ending his session when I would be getting there for mine and vice versa. Then the engineer at the studio Araz connected us. We were in the studio going over beats and I had a sketch of “When I’m Drunk” that had a slightly different hook with no verses on it. Press was feeling the concept of the hook so we ran with that record.
HipHopCanada: Which Pressa records have resonated with you the most?
TS: One that I like and felt was slept on was “Gucci Collar”, aside from that “Canada Goose” goes crazy.
HipHopCanada: Will the song get any video treatment? If so, who are you bringing in to direct?
TS: The video is being edited right now and it was directed by James Monzano and myself.
HipHopCanada: Will “When I’m Drunk” be featured on a larger project? If so, what can listeners expect from it?
TS: “When I’m Drunk” is a stand alone single. It’s a different vibe from the other stuff I’m working on for my forthcoming project coming in the Fall.
HipHopCanada: On that note, your 8-track project A Night To Remember was released back in February. What kind of feedback have you been getting? Which track have people been gravitating to the most?
TS: The feedback was great. “All Your Love” was the one people gravitated to the most. It was featured in a bunch of playlists on Spotify, Northern Bars, Viral 50 Canada, Fresh Finds, Just Vibing. It even made it to #34 on the Viral 50 Canada charts. It’s at about 120K streams on Spotify now. We did a crazy cinematic music video for it as well.
It was dope to see hundreds of strangers tagging me in their stories listening and posting the album from all over the world.
HipHopCanada: In your opinion, what’s the biggest difference between the Vancouver and Toronto hip-hop scenes?
TS: To be honest, in my opinion Drake. He pointed a flash light in the dark. Once he did that you could see so much talent. I think Canada was never taken serious in the American industry, it wasn’t credible before Drake. He’s arguably the biggest artist in the world so once he did that, it allowed all the artists there to have a bigger platform and be taken more serious and even break out of Canada. The whole entire world knows about Toronto and the music coming out of the city. Vancouver hasn’t had that quite yet.
HipHopCanada: Who else are you checking for from the West Coast?
TS: Teon Gibbs is fire; he’s someone I’ll be dropping something with soon. Also Side is really dope.
HipHopCanada: Will people have a chance to see you live soon?
TS: Yes, I’ll be announcing some dates very soon for the Fall and I hope Toronto is one of them.
HipHopCanada: What’s next for Terell Safadi?
TS: I’ve been dropping a lot of solo songs… so my next record coming out this summer is featuring Raven Felix of Taylor Gang. She’s signed to Wiz Khalifa’s label; she’s dope. I’m hyped for that record, it’s perfect for summer.
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Written by Jesse Plunkett for HipHopCanada
Follow @TerellSafadi on Instagram.