{"id":733076,"date":"2026-06-13T01:40:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T22:40:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/navy-blue-on-sir-render-na-kel-smith-and-how-simple-is-a-strength\/"},"modified":"2026-06-13T01:40:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T22:40:24","slug":"navy-blue-on-sir-render-na-kel-smith-and-how-simple-is-a-strength","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/navy-blue-on-sir-render-na-kel-smith-and-how-simple-is-a-strength\/","title":{"rendered":"Navy Blue on Sir Render, Na-Kel Smith, and how \u201csimple is a strength.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a35848ccccaa\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a35848ccccaa\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/navy-blue-on-sir-render-na-kel-smith-and-how-simple-is-a-strength\/#On_his_newest_album_Sir_Render_Sage_Elsessers_pen_is_sharper_than_ever_It_only_took_him_five_years\" >On his newest album Sir Render, Sage Elsesser\u2019s pen is sharper than ever. It only took him five years.<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"deck\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"On_his_newest_album_Sir_Render_Sage_Elsessers_pen_is_sharper_than_ever_It_only_took_him_five_years\"><\/span>On his newest album <i>Sir Render<\/i>, Sage Elsesser\u2019s pen is sharper than ever. It only took him five years.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"content_blocks\">\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-281447\" class=\"content_block paragraph image triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_2_kkv54r\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_2_kkv54r\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_2_kkv54r\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_2_kkv54r\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_2_kkv54r\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_2_kkv54r\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_2_kkv54r\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_2_kkv54r\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_2_kkv54r\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_2_kkv54r\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_2_kkv54r\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"Navy Blue on &lt;i&gt;Sir Render&lt;\/i&gt;, Na-Kel Smith, and how \u201csimple is a strength.\u201d\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><\/p>\n<p>      Ethan Holland\/The FADER<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-281440\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            Navy Blue won\u2019t say <i>Sir Render<\/i> is his best album yet, but it is the one he\u2019s put the most thought into. That makes sense: when you work on an album for five years \u2013 and you\u2019re as creatively diligent as r<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>er, model, and skateboarder Sage Elsesser \u2013 of course every word and instrument will be considered just so. Elsesser has been releasing pensive music under the moniker Navy Blue since February 2019, and so his latest full-length presents a cumulative snapshot of his career in the 2020s. And although Elsesser demurs to pick a favorite from amongst his albums \u2013 \u201cthey all serve their purpose,\u201d he tells me the first time we chat \u2013 his pen has sharpened vividly on <i>Sir Render<\/i>.\n          <\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div>\n<p>\n            This clarity of writing is framed by a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a> of spoken word interludes of James Earl Jones narrating the 1940 novel <i>Native Son<\/i> by Richard Wright. Jones is a second or third cousin of Elsesser&#8217;s through his grandmother, and supported Elsesser\u2019s mother pursuing a career in the arts, making it a full circle moment for the family.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cJames Earl&#8217;s candor and how his phrasing is so different, it just gave the album another life,\u201d says Elsesser. \u201cIt felt like I was honoring him, and I was making this album when he was alive. Now since he&#8217;s passed, it has a whole different meaning and purpose.\u201d\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-281450\" class=\"content_block paragraph embed triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"\">\n    <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Navy Blue - Commencement\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0JknKSv7PQw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-281441\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            Elsesser doesn\u2019t edit his raps: \u201cPeople say the first idea is <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a>ly the best idea. That feels like God&#8217;s will for me,\u201d he explains. \u201cThe first thought is what it&#8217;s supposed to be, versus me getting all into the minutiae of it and being like, <i>no, but what if<\/i>&#8230;\u201d Through experience and curation, <i>Sir Render<\/i> feels remarkably efficient, in the sense that every cutting line feels carefully considered and calibrated, honed to a pristine edge. Elsesser is quick to credit the late Ka as a key inspiration, explaining that the Brooklyn MC always knew when to leave, \u201cthe space for breath.\u201d\n          <\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div>\n<p>\n            \u201cGive the listener time,\u201d Elsesser says. \u201cI\u2019m a film person; I like jarring stillness. I like when a shot is held a second too long. If we were to sit here and just look at each other and not say anything \u2013 who&#8217;s  gonna be the first one to break? I want to push that moment, that feeling right when the scene should be cut and there&#8217;s two extra seconds. I\u2019ve learned to embrace that\u201d\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            The FADER caught up with Navy Blue two days ahead of the release of <i>Sir Render<\/i> to chat about simplifying his raps, working with Earl Sweatshirt and Na-Kel Smith, and the meaning behind his lyric, \u201cliving through a genocide as real as it gets.\u201d\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-281444\" class=\"content_block paragraph embed triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"\">\n    <iframe data-testid=\"embed-iframe\" style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/49q1HNNngQn7A798rHU8rp?utm_source=generator&amp;si=6b6e42b8a62d4104\" width=\"100%\" height=\"352\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-281445\" class=\"content_block paragraph embed triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"\">\n    <iframe allow=\"autoplay *; encrypted-media *; fullscreen *; clipboard-write\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"450\" style=\"width:100%;max-width:660px;overflow:hidden;border-radius:10px;\" sandbox=\"allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation\" src=\"https:\/\/embed.music.apple.com\/us\/album\/sir-render\/1895825845\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-281446\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            <b>The FADER: Talk to me a little bit about what you&#8217;ve been doing these last couple of days leading up to the release of Sir Render.<br \/>Navy Blue:<\/b> I actually just got back from London. I went out there to celebrate with with my extended Arsenal family. Winning the Premier League after 22 years, it was a necessity for me to be there. So, that&#8217;s where I just was at, after a heartbreaking Champions League final loss. But, I\u2019m content. Preparing to let the world have an album that I&#8217;ve held near and dear to me for the past couple of years, and I&#8217;m just happy that it&#8217;s going to finally be released.\n          <\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div>\n<p>\n            <br \/><b>Your music is really about emotional landscapes, our internal psycho-geography. But one line that stood out to me on &#8220;Belladonna&#8221; with Earl Sweatshirt was, &#8220;From Mid, out to Bed-Stuy.&#8221; When I listen to your music, I don&#8217;t necessarily think of you as a person from a specific location; I think of you as somebody whose music is more about us seeing the world through your eyes. Talk to me a little bit about how these physical locations register in your music.<\/b><br \/>From a two-dimensional aspect, I always think in extremes, and I think of two ends of a spectrum. As I&#8217;ve grown up, that two-dimensional line with two points on each end has looped around and made a circle, and then that becomes a three-dimensional thing, a sphere. So from the two-dimensional plane, I just see it as like two coasts, my beginnings and my present times.<br \/>&#8220;From Mid-City out to Bed-Stuy, from depths rising.&#8221; It&#8217;s a simple, simple statement. But yeah, Mid-City is where I&#8217;m from, it&#8217;s where Thebe [Earl Sweatshirt] is from. We have that shared bond and love for where we&#8217;re from in Los Angeles. There&#8217;s a part of me that feels like I really became who I am, who I was truly meant to be here in Brooklyn. And I mean, Navy Blue really blossomed as a project in Bedford-Stuyvesant specifically. So my heart is always kind of here in that sense.\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-281454\" class=\"content_block paragraph embed triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"\">\n    <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Belladonna\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/il0jrEWgXk8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-281449\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            <b>One thing from our previous conversation I was thinking about a lot with this record was the idea of saying more with less. One of the big developments in your writing on this record is that it feels like there&#8217;s a real efficiency of images or ideas, whereas previously there was a bit of intentional meandering. How are you thinking about this idea of reducing down?<\/b><br \/>I just think simplicity always wins. At the time that I was beginning to make this album, I had set my intention. Not that I had created confines or limits to where I could go: I knew specifically what I was trying to speak to. I knew the <i>time<\/i> that I was speaking to. I knew that I wanted to make an album that was an extension of <i>Song of Sage: Post Panic!<\/i>, but from a different lens. Reflecting back upon it, having a new experience with old experiences. That&#8217;s part of growth.<br \/>I remember being in high school like, &#8220;Oh, I hate this, I hate this.&#8221; I was in a boarding school, and then now as an adult, I&#8217;m like, \u201cWhat the hell? It was so beautiful, I&#8217;m so grateful for that teacher, that experience,\u201d and that&#8217;s just perspective. So I also know that I was deeply studying Ka&#8217;s work, and I always felt that the absence of words and the space that he would use between moments would accentuate that kind of&#8230; Mm, I&#8217;ll give you an example. Breath and the absence of words is also saying something. You know, people revere Bukowski, and he&#8217;s one of our greats, but he&#8217;s quite a simple writer.<br \/>Simple is a strength. Simple is not necessarily easy. There are basketball players that I grew up watching, skateboarders that I grew up watching that made things look simple \u2013 but it&#8217;s not.\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-281448\" class=\"content_block paragraph image triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_3_ztuuxw\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_3_ztuuxw\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_3_ztuuxw\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_3_ztuuxw\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_3_ztuuxw\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_3_ztuuxw\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_3_ztuuxw\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_3_ztuuxw\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_3_ztuuxw\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_3_ztuuxw\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_3_ztuuxw\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 640px\" alt=\"Navy Blue on &lt;i&gt;Sir Render&lt;\/i&gt;, Na-Kel Smith, and how \u201csimple is a strength.\u201d\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><\/p>\n<p>      Ethan Holland\/The FADER<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content_block paragraph triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-281451\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            <b>On the record you rap, &#8220;<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_new\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Typ6955hG5c\">Living through a genocide is real as it gets<\/a>.&#8221; What does that line mean to you?<\/b><br \/>This is something that Thebe and I have spoken about in the past. You write something in the present, and you don&#8217;t know what you&#8217;re writing about until the future. I was speaking about the genocide of Black Americans, and then lo and behold, look at the times we&#8217;re existing in now. Witnessing a genocide right before us, and being as desensitized as we already were. The rude awakening.<br \/>I&#8217;m just grateful to be someone who feels the way that I do, that I have a heart still. When I see those images of mangled infants, and that makes me feel choked up, or when I see a child here in America whose life has ended much too soon, that I feel moved by that. And that I feel a duty to live in their honor.<br \/>So when I say, \u201cliving through genocide is as real as it gets,\u201d witnessing death and living is painful. Why do I get to live, and why does a child have to die? Since when did martyrdom apply to children? But I love writing. That&#8217;s the power of writing. There&#8217;s people that wrote in the &#8217;40s speaking of this, and their work still stands today. And that&#8217;s the power of the word. So you also have to be really careful about what you say and what you write.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            <br \/><b>I also wanted to ask about your friendship with Na-Kel Smith, another talented skater who made the jump to rapping.<\/b><br \/>Much like Thebe, Nak is somebody that I\u2019ve always looked up to. Whether it was how to wear my clothes, how to tie my shoes, I always looked to Nak for that inspiration as a child. I got to witness Nak step into his gift that is the way that he writes, how poignantly he\u2019s able to speak to his life. I feel like we come from that kind of tribe of, \u201chere\u2019s a snapshot of my life presently. This is how I\u2019ve grown.\u201d And Nak has witnessed that with me as well, stepping into music. <br \/>Being that I\u2019ve known him for so long, it\u2019s really cool to watch him make his own beats. I think that&#8217;s where the real magic is, when you start making your own beats. Only you know what you\u2019re looking for truly. And he\u2019s made some special music that I think is kind of ahead of its time. People will come back to it and be like, \u201cWhoa, this is something that we maybe weren\u2019t fully appreciating.\u201d I think that applies to so many people that I love.\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-281456\" class=\"content_block paragraph embed triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"\">\n    <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ocean Light (Phase 1: Prelude)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GwV_YDLJ3zQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-281452\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            <b>One of my favorite lines from the intro track was when you said, \u201cMy mother didn\u2019t give me life to pick it apart.\u201d And I was thinking about \u201cLife\u2019s Terms\u201d from 2023, when you rapped, \u201cI put my all in this to pick apart these flaws I wear.\u201d <\/b><br \/>Both can exist, you know? One might have been written on a Tuesday and the other on a Thursday. There are days that I\u2019m hypercritical and I\u2019m thinking about how I could have done something better, or in a more heightened sensitivity. I would say on \u201cCommencement,\u201d when I say that line, \u201cMama didn\u2019t give me life to just pick it apart,\u201d it\u2019s like a reminder, you know? Cuz I\u2019m still liable today to sit there picking apart things that are perfectly imperfect. And that\u2019s what this album is really about, accepting one\u2019s shadow. All the parts we need to work on.<br \/>The reality of that is that you\u2019ve got to learn to accept it and live with it, because the parts of us that we necessarily don\u2019t like are still parts of us. We are complex people, you know? All of us , whether we know it or not. But I also think that we are much more simple beings than we think we are. We think that things are much more complicated than they are, but that\u2019s just how the brain works.<br \/>The analogy that I was using for some years is like, if you\u2019ve ever worn two to three necklaces, what happens when they get tangled? That takes patience. You have to go really slow, otherwise you\u2019re just going to tangle it more. So I guess I\u2019m speaking to whatever that feeling is there\u2013 slowly picking one link at a time to undo it versus just like [makes frantic noises]. It\u2019s really easy to panic. But it takes true composure to be able to just say, \u201cAll right, today I\u2019m not going to, you know, pick myself apart and be and be cruel to myself. I\u2019m going to make a conscious effort to just be as loving and and compassionate as I can be,\u201d you know? That&#8217;s how I reflect on both those lines.\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content_block paragraph triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-281443\" class=\"content_block paragraph image triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/FS1010D---Navy-Blue---Sir-Render---1400_n7g36i\/the-album-art-for-i-sir-render-i-by-ryan-lee.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/FS1010D---Navy-Blue---Sir-Render---1400_n7g36i\/the-album-art-for-i-sir-render-i-by-ryan-lee.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/FS1010D---Navy-Blue---Sir-Render---1400_n7g36i\/the-album-art-for-i-sir-render-i-by-ryan-lee.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/FS1010D---Navy-Blue---Sir-Render---1400_n7g36i\/the-album-art-for-i-sir-render-i-by-ryan-lee.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/FS1010D---Navy-Blue---Sir-Render---1400_n7g36i\/the-album-art-for-i-sir-render-i-by-ryan-lee.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/FS1010D---Navy-Blue---Sir-Render---1400_n7g36i\/the-album-art-for-i-sir-render-i-by-ryan-lee.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/FS1010D---Navy-Blue---Sir-Render---1400_n7g36i\/the-album-art-for-i-sir-render-i-by-ryan-lee.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/FS1010D---Navy-Blue---Sir-Render---1400_n7g36i\/the-album-art-for-i-sir-render-i-by-ryan-lee.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/FS1010D---Navy-Blue---Sir-Render---1400_n7g36i\/the-album-art-for-i-sir-render-i-by-ryan-lee.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/FS1010D---Navy-Blue---Sir-Render---1400_n7g36i\/the-album-art-for-i-sir-render-i-by-ryan-lee.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/FS1010D---Navy-Blue---Sir-Render---1400_n7g36i\/the-album-art-for-i-sir-render-i-by-ryan-lee.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 640px\" alt=\"Navy Blue on &lt;i&gt;Sir Render&lt;\/i&gt;, Na-Kel Smith, and how \u201csimple is a strength.\u201d\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>    <span class=\"caption\"><br \/>\n      The album art for <i>Sir Render<\/i> by Ryan Lee.<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><br \/>\n      \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-281453\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            <b>You&#8217;ve been working on <i>Sir Render<\/i> for five years. I was curious about that because that spans your time before, during, and after signing to Def Jam. Could you talk a bit about the decision to go to a major label and how that influenced the music that came after?<\/b><br \/>I love <i>Ways of Knowing<\/i>. That\u2019s an album that I will always love and appreciate. But working with Budgie was the first time I&#8217;d ever worked with just one producer, and I think the first draft of that album was much more in line with the music that I was making. And then there\u2019s certain joints that didn\u2019t get cleared, and we\u2019re having to remake them. And then these songs are becoming big and I\u2019m thinking, \u201cWhoa, maybe this is an opportunity to really breakthrough and reach a new audience.\u201d And I\u2019m really grateful for it; I tried a lot of new things on there, but I just felt this necessity to return back to my essence.<br \/>None of it was in vain, I wanted to learn how the machine worked, and I definitely got to learn how it worked. It\u2019s definitely not for me. I make music from my heart for the people that it\u2019s meant for, and when it\u2019s funneled through the computers and all of that stuff, a part of it dies, you know? Part of the spirit dies. You have to be content with that.<br \/>I remember my mom saying she met Marvin Gaye and they were like, \u201cYeah, I\u2019m a singer, I\u2019m gonna make music dadada\u201d and he said, \u201cWell, you better love it because it\u2019ll kill you.\u201d And just thinking about all the tortured souls of the music industry, everyone knows that it\u2019s maybe not the most wholesome place. Although I didn\u2019t get too engulfed in it, I had enough of an experience to know like, \u201cAh, this is not this is not the place for me.\u201d Independence is definitely the way to go right now. The traditional record label setup is just, if it works for you, then it works for you. I know for me personally, it doesn\u2019t work for me.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            <br \/><b>You and Budgie locked in on <i>Ways of Knowing<\/i>, which had a bit of a different sound. After you were dropped by Def Jam, it seemed like you had a bit of a creative or internal shift.<\/b><br \/>Nothing happens in God\u2019s world by mistake, and things are exactly as they are meant to be. Like: grateful for <i>Ways of Knowing<\/i> \u2018cause I would have put out something else. And <i>Sir Render<\/i> wouldn\u2019t have come out when it needed to come out, and then we wouldn\u2019t have gotten <i>Memoirs in Armour<\/i> and we wouldn\u2019t have gotten <i>The Sword &amp; the Soaring<\/i>. So I\u2019m just content. I look up to wherever God is, and I\u2019m just like, <i>Thank you. You\u2019re in charge. I\u2019m just here moving the needle a little bit<\/i>.\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-281455\" class=\"content_block paragraph image triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_1_qw7ukl\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_1_qw7ukl\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_1_qw7ukl\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_1_qw7ukl\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_1_qw7ukl\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_1_qw7ukl\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_1_qw7ukl\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_1_qw7ukl\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_1_qw7ukl\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_1_qw7ukl\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_1_qw7ukl\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 640px\" alt=\"Navy Blue on &lt;i&gt;Sir Render&lt;\/i&gt;, Na-Kel Smith, and how \u201csimple is a strength.\u201d\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><\/p>\n<p>      Ethan Holland\/The FADER<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"author\">\n    <span><br \/>\n      By <span class=\"credit_name\">Vivian Medithi<\/span><br \/>\n  <\/span><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thefader.com\/2026\/06\/12\/navy-blue-interview-sir-render\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On his newest album Sir Render, Sage Elsesser\u2019s pen is sharper than ever. It only took him five years. Ethan Holland\/The FADER Navy Blue won\u2019t say Sir Render is his best album yet, but it is the one he\u2019s put the most thought into. That makes sense: when you work on an album for five&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":733077,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/c_limit,w_1024\/c_crop,h_533,w_1024,x_0,y_14,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_2_tm9kg4\/NAVY_BLUE___The_FADER_2_tm9kg4.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[103165,70532,109728,87597],"class_list":["post-733076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-earl-sweatshirt","tag-hip-hop","tag-na-kel-smith","tag-navy-blue"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/733076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=733076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/733076\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/733077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=733076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=733076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=733076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}