Five questions with Sainté, rap’s charming new breakout star

We get up close and personal with the musician in our House Studios, ahead of his performance at Shoreditch House
By Gisselle Babaran
Gashirai Gondo – better known as Sainté – may be from Leicester, but his sound has an undeniable West Coast feel. Fairly new to the UK’s competitive rap scene, the Midlander has already made waves with his track ‘Champagne Shots’, amassing more than seven million streams on Spotify.
Having released his first EP Local MVP earlier this year, Sainté is being noticed for the smooth flow of his lyrics. His bars flit glossily over the various styles that are defining UK music right now: hip-hop, jazz, and R&B. With a discernible partiality for US hip-hop (the artist cites Pharrell, Drake and Freddie Gibbs as inspirations), American influences in his music can also be attributed to long-time collaborator Parker Jazz, the producer of his recently released track ‘Old Times’.
At only 19 years old, there’s sure to be more to come from the soon-to-be star.
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