"Success Equals Sacrifice. Sacrifice Ensures Success."
That's definitely a lesson that's re-taught itself over and over again throughout my life. And I don't imagine that the lesson will ever be fully mastered. For hardworking people like myself and Newburgh, NY rapper SES Da Great, sacrifices must be made along the journey to success.
One thing that SES does not sacrifice is quality, creativity or honesty in his music and lyrics. As founder of TRUSIC Music (see my previous post on the group), SES can relate to his listeners by sharing real experiences and by being down to earth. Not to mention, his flow is sick. For him, hip-hop is about the message, not the money. His lyrics are thoughtful and challenging, and they're paired with strong beats and smooth hooks.
SES is working on the third installment of his Duality series, a collection of mixtapes in which he expresses contrast and complexities in his lyrics. Both part 1, entitled Young Man-Old Soul, and part 2, Above & Below are available on his website now. Part 3, Love/Hate will be released this year.
We did a photo shoot in Albany for the release of Love/Hate. Wandering the streets of downtown, chatting and scoping out cool places to shoot, I really got to find out a lot about SES (also known as Sam). A graduate from the esteemed Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) with a degree in architecture, SES found that he was more consumed by music than he was by his job working for the State of New York as a construction manager. He's opened up a music studio in his hometown of Newburgh, helped create TRUSIC as a brand, and has fully immersed himself in his music, which makes him happy. And happiness is what makes him successful. Not too many people can say that they dedicate each day to something that truly makes them happy. But SES does, and he's inspired me to do the same.
Check SES and the rest of TRUSIC out at SESdaGreat.com and TRUSICmusic.com
--lya
