Sir the Baptist Speaks On Growing Up In Chiraq And Debut Album
Chiraq music scene is one that is bustling with a wide range of talented artist, ranging from Vic Mensa, Chance the rapper, Alex Wile, Eryn Allen Kane to King Louie, Kanye West, Common, Mick Jenkins, Lil Reese and many more. In the mix of it all is one Chi-town emcee, Sir the Baptist, who’s soulful church sound but contemporary lyric’s create a sound that doesn’t quite fit into just one typical genre.
Raised by a pastor in Chicago’s historic Bronzeville neighborhood, Sir was born a “church boy” and evolved into what some would call a spiritually-attuned rebel. Although his music is rooted in modern R&B/hip-hop, it possesses strong gospel undertones with a full choir on nearly every song. In the same spirit Ray Charles brought gospel influence into the pop world with “I Got A Woman”, Madonna with “Like A Prayer”, and Kanye West with “Jesus Walks.”
“He wasn’t a preacher’s kid but he went to church a lot and that “Jesus Walks” … there’s a place there it’s just everybody don’t stay in it. It’s not completely them it’s just the facet of them. This church piece, it’s all me. So it gives me a chance to just sit and make an album based off of the feeling you had when you heard Jesus walks. When you were like this ain’t Gospel. What is this? It’s ghetto gospel. It’s pac. Heaven got a ghetto.”
Sir the Baptist recently dropped by That’s Enuff to speak with Unee about his debut album, growing up in Chicago and more.
Unee: So tell me about growing up in Chicago.
Sir The Baptist: I stayed with my dad most of the time. I’m a daddy’s boy. My dad slept on the second floor of the church and it was surrounded by projects. The church stained glass would get shot up and sometimes I couldn’t go outside sometimes. If you heard a certain whistle you go inside the church because you know something’s about to happen.
From the time my father moved to Chicago to the time I grew up the city greatly changed. Growing up in Chicago, when my dad first got there it was still great Bronzeville, montropolis, Chicago. Then by the time I come, growing up in the 90s, it’s not that great Chicago anymore. It’s crime infested because of all the things between 1924 and 1990.
You have the point where drugs are starting to come through, cocaine and all that stuff, and it derails this booming culture. It was a point where you didn’t buy outside of your neighborhood. Like you didn’t buy your suit from Zara or if those red bottoms weren’t coming from 4030 you weren’t getting them; because you understood the piece of economics. If you keep money in your community, your community becomes enriched and wealthy people would want to stay in the community then everybody gets a job, you hire in your community. Now we’re at the point where if you come outside in Chicago you’re scared of your neighbor, let alone going to hire them. So growing up in Chicago where I grew up but understanding my roots, was different, it was weird.
It’s hard in Chicago, its Chiraq. We have more deaths in Chicago daily than they do in Iraq sometimes and it’s horrible. Growing up there it’s pretty hard, but if somebody makes it out they usually make it out and leave. But you got to make it out and go back and enrich that community. Develop and find strategic ways to get around certain things. Growing up it was hard but I got a plan.
Unee: What was your mom’s, friends and family’s thought when you said “I want to quit this job to do music?”
Sir The Baptist: My mom’s a missionary. She understood that there was a part that I had to take this chance. Like at some point you have to. You can work for somebody but you have to step out and at least try. Not a little try. Like sleep out of your car try. Like when I made Creflo Dollar I was sleeping out of my car. My girlfriend at the time was like you can just come by the house and just sleep. You don’t have to be sleeping in your car. It was risky but you have to do this though. Because what do your kids have to hold on to? Your money and that’s it. Your job gave you your money but you really have the leverage to give to your kids. You can’t give them your job. Need something tangible like a business. So it was scary. After a few nights of sleeping in your car it’s okay. Crack the window a little bit so I can just go to sleep.
Unee: So I know for some people that’s considered a low point and that’s the moment they question if they made the right decision. Is that something you went through?
Sir The Baptist: Yeah but if your call is greater than you, if what you’re doing is bigger than you. If you’ve given up your place to sleep to provide 20 years down the line, for some kids that you ain’t had yet. It pushes you even faster and more to be okay with. It was a time you’re like man I don’t even want to deal with this but you keep going.
Unee: Like you said when some people leave, they leave. But do you think that’s due to fear going back and facing people that are envious of their success and progress?
Sir The Baptist: Yeah, but another part of that is they make their progress only about them. When I say that I’m Sir the Baptist, it’s taking on John the Baptist’s name. Which is he was the forerunner for Jesus Christ. He was like I’m not the man, the man is behind me. Somebody is going to be greater behind me. Something greater is coming for the tribe of people. Like I feel like a lot of people come from Chicago and they make it all about them so they can’t go back home.
I’m not saying that. I’m saying let me enrich the community. I guarantee you if Kanye lives on my block it’d be nicer houses, better economics. No shot at Kanye, I’m just saying if he lived on my block it’d be a lot better. Like what if I just took one of the blocks, ran a street through it and built some things. Built a compound then put a gate around it then advanced that, then the money started pouring outside of the gates. Then the next block, the community is ready for it.
Honestly in Bronzeville it’s not even that many black people there as many more. White people are buying out Bronzeville. It’s just like a few places in New York, it’s terrible but what are we going to do about it?
All the cats that get the big checks they move outside so it’s hard to understand economics. I thought Obama would have changed that for us because he had a really good sense of community organizing. And part of community organizing is economics. All the artists he had that vouched for him, they got him more people but he didn’t teach them economics. Like there’s a difference. Having a charity in Chicago doesn’t count. That’s a right off. Building economics is different.
Unee: You said you had a plan for when you achieve a goal you wanted to achieve. So what’s the plan you have set?
Sir The Baptist: Instead of going to a gated community, I would like to gate my community and then enrich it. My dad owns a street; he has a street named after him. I would like to go and start there first. I was talking to a guy that’s trying to build in Chicago and it’s so hard because of politics so we can’t really say how we can pull things off but we’ve got a long fight.
But Chance is doing it. He does his work then comes back to Chicago and enriches Chicago; you’re not going to get that from every artist that comes from Chicago because they don’t understand economics. Like my dad understood economics, the reason that Brownsville has houses now instead of project buildings is because my dad enforced that. You can’t expect a Chance or me to do something that somebody else would do because we have different callings. We’re forced by the greater call in life to do something greater. So understand that economics is I’ve got to enrich my community.
Unee: Tell me about Preacher’s Kid?
Sir The Baptist: Yeah. Right now it’s called Preacher’s Kid. It’s actual a walk-through of what it’s like to be a preacher’s kid.
Most preachers’ kids are the worst because you have to be exposed to the worst first. So the album takes you through that. What it’s like trying to date a girl when she’s trying to wait until marriage, what it’s like to deal with being a rebel and not agreeing with some of the things in theology. It’s also talking about being enlisted into the streets as far as where you’re born. In Chicago it’s Chiraq. Well where is the army? Who’s the army? If we’re Chiraq and there’s a war going on. Who’s in this army? What is this life like?
It comes off as if it’s a philosophical audio book but if you just listen to it you realize this is freaking pop radio. It’s like asking Andre 3000 about “Bombs Over Bagdad. “It’s a song we loved and danced to. With “Bombs Over Bagdad,” before I realized what the lyrics were about I was enjoying the music, just vibing. But once you dig deeper, he’s telling you once this guy comes back from war; he’s got to deal with a whole lot.
I try to dig deep into the culture in the album; I’m talking about going back to your granny’s negro spirituals. That’s what the album is like.
