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Sap talks losing Mac Miller and working on Nipsey Hussle's Grammy-nominated album

Dominick 'King Dom' Draper
Special to The News Journal
For a young producer, Sap has worked with a long list of stars, from the late Mac Miller to Nipsey Hussle and Rick Ross.

What Delaware lacks in size it makes up for in talent. Some of the state's biggest music stars include country hitmaker Jimmy Allen and legendary jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown, and now we can add Newark native Jonathan King, aka Sap, to that list.

Sap, which stands for Sound of a Pioneer, is a sought-after hip-hop producer who has been putting Delaware on the map since 2008 when he produced Meek Mill’s first club hit, “In My Bag.” His first major mainstream hit came in 2011 when he produced the song “Donald Trump” for the late Mac Miller, whose death at age 26 of an apparent overdose last summer sent the music industry and fans into mourning. "Donald Trump" was certified platinum by the RIAA in 2013, giving Sap and Miller their first platinum plaques.

Since then, Sap has produced songs for Wiz Khalifa, Dave East, The Game, Rick Ross, and Tyga, to name a few. But Sap’s most recent production credit has gotten him the most acclaim yet.

Sap produced the intro and title track to star Nipsey Hussle's long-awaited album “Victory Lap,” one of the five nominees for Best Rap Album at Sunday's Grammy Awards. "Victory Lap" is up against Cardi B's "Invasion of Privacy," Mac Miller's "Swimming," Pusha T's "Daytona" and Travis Scott's "Astroworld."   

While working as a producer, Sap's rap career is also developing.

Sap's accomplishment is well earned for a young producer. Not only is Sap growing as a beatsmith, but also as a lyricist with sneaky genius wordplay who can also produce his own tracks.

Besides earning cred for "Victory Lap," Sap’s rap career is quietly taking off. His debut album, “Self Employed” has garnered millions of streams with the tracks “C4" featuring Mac Miller, and “O Eight” collectively reaching over 2 million on Spotify. And in December Sap released his second studio album, “Self Improved.”
We talked with Sap about working on “Victory Lap,"  his company Sound of a Pioneer and its young Wilmington talent, and his friend the late Mac Miller.

Q: So first and foremost, how does it feel to be a Grammy-nominated producer?
A: Man, it's crazy, to be honest. As many projects as I’ve worked on this still came so much faster than I thought it was going to come. But out of everything I’ve worked on I felt like this would be the album if it was going to happen.

Q: Where were you when you got the news?
A: DJ Young Legend was the first to hit me and tell me, but that morning I saw that they were going to release the nominations. But I didn't pay much attention to it because even though Nipsey deserved it, the Grammys can be very political. But once I got the news it was a surreal feeling.

Q: The album “Victory Lap” was supposed to be released, like, 5 years ago. Did Nipsey have your beat for that long?
A: Yeah, I gave that beat to Nipsey back in 2014 when I first worked with him on his mixtape “Mailbox Money.” What is funny about Nipsey is he will sit on a beat he likes for however long he wants to until he’s ready to use it. It's not that he doesn't want it -- he just stores it until it feels right. The album took four years but it definitely lived up to the hype.

Q: How important is producing the intro and title track for "Victory Lap"?
A: It is definitely major because the single literally sets the tone for the entire album. The first track is what may make a person continue listening or not so it has to come out the gate strong. Even having the title track is a big deal because usually, the track named after the album comes with its own set of expectations. So being able to get both on a legendary project is a blessing for sure.

Q: Let's talk about your new album, “Self Improved." Why that name, and what do you feel you improved on?
A: I really wanted my fans to see the growth in my skills as a rapper. My first album was more about giving the fans what they wanted to hear. I pushed myself to rap over the track “C4” that I did with Mac (Miller) because I knew it would commercially do well. On my new album, I wanted to be 100 percent authentic to who I am. I picked beats that I like and limited my features to only one song with my artist Zookie. I wanted to make a project that would represent who I am to the core.

Q: Why only one feature?
A: Well, I originally wasn't going to have any features but I have recently been working with this artist from Wilmington named Zookie and she is so talented, I had to get her on the album so people could get a taste of what she can do. But mainly I felt like I wanted to stand on my own two feet with this album. Having the celebrity names to back me up on my first album was great, but this one had to be more personal. "Self Improved" was about being fearless.

Q: How did you meet Zookie? And what's the future for the Pioneer Crew?
A: Well, I saw a video of her performing at an open mic in Delaware because somebody tagged me in it on Facebook and I reached out to her. What's crazy is you and a few other people connected me about her and it just made sense. Once we met up and just talked about music. I sent her some beats and she started working right away. I always hoped I would come across an artist from my home state that I could help build with but find her was such a blessing. She is so talented and naturally gifted that I feel like it's impossible for her to fail. It's only been a few months and her new album “Zookergy” will be out this year along with an energy drink line with the same name. It's going to be a big year for the Pioneer Crew.

Q: The last song on your new album, “Dear Friend” is a tribute to the late Mac Miller, who you were very close with. How has his death affected you?
A: Mac was an amazing person and he passed on so much to everybody that knew him. One of the best things I learned from him was how to live in the moment. How the world is so worried about social media and how things look to others. Mac was all about being authentic and losing him still doesn't feel real. Even after I found out it took me a while to accept and it's still hard. The memories I have will live forever like when he came from Pittsburgh to Delaware to work with me and just kicked it and made music in my basement. It's tough but we are going to make sure his legacy lives on forever.

Find Dominick 'King Dom' Draper on Instagram @King_Dom302, or email him Dominick.Draper@yahoo.com

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