Assassin: "I find fulfillment in music that can inspire people, that can be a positive force, music that my great-grandchildren will be proud of!"

First things first: what should I call you? Assassin, Agent 006, Agent Sasco?
Sasco: "Anything's fine." Why the different monikers?
Sasco: "I started off out of high school with the name 'Assassin' and then as time progressed people started shortening the name to call me 'Sasco'. And then in about 2007 I put out the 'Agent 006' as people were also starting to call me that, you know from the Bond series so eventually I just put the 'Agent' and the 'Sasco' together to form an alternative name to 'Assassin'. But both are still operative and optional."

You originate from Saint Andrew (an area close to Kingston where the famous Trench Town' is also located, red.), a parish with a rather poor population but at the same time a very rich musical tradition, especially when it comes to dancehall. Your second album 'Gully Sit'n' also celebrates life in the ghetto by exploring its positive elements. In 2007 you attended one of my lectures in Kingston on dancehall and afterwards there was a discussion in the audience about dancehall and violence. You expressed the sentiment that rather than inciting violence, dancehall is a journalistic rendition of everyday reality and serves a cathartic purpose. Do you still feel the same way?
Sasco: "Whether or not a song depicting a violent act or depicting daily situation incites violence is just a matter of perception. You could see it as the writer merely representing a real-life scenario. This goes for anything. If you're writing a movie, it may contain violence because there is violence in real life. But anyone can argue that by representing these images, or in the case of music, representing these ideas as lyrics in songs, someone is inciting violence. You often hear that argument. But I do maintain that, if music is to depict real life, then there is a license to depict all there is in life and violence is one reality of life and a writer can choose to illustrate that. Whether or not a listener or a critic will see it as inciting something, I guess that's secondary."

I can agree on that. Building on that topic, do you feel that it's important to portray a positive image of ghetto life?
Sasco: "Well, life is a balance, yes? So just as the ghetto in real life is not all bad, the representation of it must also be balanced. So if you are going to speak of the not so good realities then you should also talk about the good parts."

You were born in 1982 so you were an 80s baby and you grew up listening to the early 90s dancehall, what some people consider to be the glory days of dancehall. How did that music influence you?
Sasco: "Well, I was loving the music from a very early age. But as you said I was born in '82 so by '95 I was a teenager and that's the time in your life when you really start to get access to music in a more intimate way. At 5 I couldn't be going out to buy records but by 13-14 I would save my lunch money to buy music. It has been a great influence in my development, both personally as an individual and musically."

I see. So tell us, after saving all that lunch money, how did you then enter the music scene?
Sasco: "You know what? When I was in high school, a schoolmate of mine was actually Spragga Benz' nephew. I wrote a song that was eventually performed by Spragga Benz and I got to meet him. He introduced me to Donovan Germain at that time of Penthouse Records who became my manager shortly after that. I became a member of Red Square from that linkage with Spragga as well and kind of just made a transition from student to artist."

And you've been in the music business ever since. How do you feel your music has evolved from that time onwards?
Sasco: "As I matured, I think my material has also matured somewhat. I started fresh out of high school at 16-17 and of course my ideas and ideals have changed from that time until now. Also, I am now a father of three so I do have a different perspective and I think that's also represented in my material."

A lot of big things have happened to you in the past few years. You did some work for big names like Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar and Raekwon. How did these things come about?
Sasco: "When you stay consistent and work hard, opportunities come by and you try to make the best of them. I send nuff respect to Kardinal Offishall. We just had a song released tonight called 'OG', Kardinall Offishal featuring Assassin. Kardinal was instrumental in me being on the Kendrick Lamar record. The Raekwon link was made by Jerry Wonda. So it's good to work hard and link up with people through music to then have these things happen to you. It's just great to represent the music, you know."

So how did you feel about these things happening? Did you feel like: "Yes it's finally happening, this is what I've been hoping for and expecting" or did it com as a surprise and was it more of a humbling experience?
Sasco: "It's a little bit of both. I really do feel like all I have done so far is preparation for what is to come and I really do feel like I'm still ascending and I'm humbled by just being here to represent my music. I try to make the most of opportunities and I consider myself a student of the music at all times. I'm still trying to grow and learn in order to progress. So yes I do feel like I'm given opportunities and I'm able to make the most of them because of the work that I have put in. And I will continue to put in more work with the understanding that when other opportunities come up I would like to take full advantage of them."

Do you ever consider doing something completely different musically?
Sasco: (Laughs) "Every day!! You know, you constantly try to challenge yourself where music is concerned as much as you can while of course maintaining some kind of identity. But for sure you want to explore your creative side and see what you come up with."

So are you veering more towards a different audience now? You seem to be doing a lot of US-based projects. Do you have a set marketing strategy in mind or do you just go with the flow and see what comes next?
Sasco: "For sure you want to have some kind of forward direction. I'm in a situation where, because of the Kendrick feature and the Kanye feature and Raekwon and Kardinal, just being in that space, things are progressing along that line and I want to explore that and keep that momentum going. But at the same time I'm talking to you right now, on a European tour trying to deliver great shows. So things are going on in the US, the Caribbean and Europe at the same time. I make a conscious and concerted effort to cater for different audiences. I'm currently working on a project that's veering more towards European audiences with a one-drop reggae vibe so the massive can look out for that."

We are definitely excited for that. Is it very different for you to perform for audiences in the US and Europe as opposed to Jamaica?
Sasco: "It's different for sure. Different people, different audiences respond differently to the music and they have different things that they extract and vibe to. That being said, whether it's Jamaica, Belgium or anywhere in the world, it's always a pleasure to represent the music and you always want to give 100% no matter where you are. It's a blessing and it's nothing short of an honor to represent my music. At the same time it's very humbling to be out here and understand that I am a part of something that's so much greater than me. I just try my best to help that movement."

Thanks, we really appreciate it! So you were talking about a new project you're working on. Can you tell us a little bit more about that?
Sasco: "For sure. Like I said, I'm looking to get an album released before this year is out. We are pretty much done, we have nine or ten tracks already with various producers, even Protoje produced one of the songs. I'm very excited about it and I know the massive will love it."

You also have a degree in business and I know that you regularly give talks at UWI. Could you share your thoughts on the importance of education?
Sasco: "I see education more as a matter of personal development. We are taught a lot during our school years, but that's pretty much education for credentials rather than your own development. I encourage people to try to maximize themselves and, if they have access to education, to pursue that. And I do think that it helps, your formation will help in whatever you choose to do."

You have a great voice and you are, in my opinion, a very talented lyricist. It's quite remarkable that mostly all of your songs have a conscious message. Is that something that you purposely strive for?
Sasco: (Laughs). "In all honesty, I do have a few songs that you would call violent but it's not my main objective. That being said, I really do try consciously to have a certain integrity within my words. This links up with what we spoke about earlier, since becoming a father and since understanding that there is a different value of music that can inspire a positive reaction. You have frivolous material that's really just for entertainment and there is a place for that but personally, I find fulfillment in music that can inspire people, that can be a positive force, music that my great-grandchildren will be proud of."