ON THE RISE
Miami based rapper SATEGA knows that people are tired of hearing the same old music with everyone sounding the same. That isn’t the case with his music “a breath of fresh air,” as SATEGA prides himself in having his own unique sound, cadence and flow.
“I don’t sound like anyone else,” he said. “I sound like SATEGA, and I feel proud to say that because most artists can’t.”
SATEGA has released a brand new single called “Blame It on Me,” which he describes as a “fun, sexy record.” It is inspired by true events, and is about him and a girl being playful and teasing each other.
“She’ll joke at me that something’s my fault, and I’m like, ‘Blame it on me,’” he said. “You know, it’s real. That’s where the thought of the record came from. It’s a fun record to sing along to. It’s memorable, catchy. You can play it anywhere. You can play it in the car, the club, the yacht. It definitely has a fun vibe.”
A music video for “Blame It on Me” is scheduled for a March 1 release, and SATEGA is pumped about it because it “brings it all home.”
“It’s exciting,” he said. “It matches the record perfectly. Very, very wavy.”
SATEGA was born and Chicago and raised in Miami, and is inspired by the how artists relate their music to reality. This can be both positive and negative aspects of life. SATEGA said that he writes “because it not only makes people feel good, it also motivates them, as well, and allows people to relate and connect with you on a deeper level.”
“I was listening to hip-hop and R&B since I was in elementary school,” he said. “I remember first and second grade being surrounded by hip-hop culture. Even in my school, that was predominantly the music that was played. So you’re a product of your environment. I think that was a blessing for me.”
SATEGA called it a vibrant culture that has inspired him to this day.
“Just seeing artists express themselves and express their story, I was like, well, I’ve got a story too,” he said. “I think that’s where the influence came from- just seeing other mainstream artists tell their story in a song. When it’s packaged nice with good production, it makes it art. That was fascinating to me, to create a body of work that is relatable, enjoyable and fun to sing.”
SATEGA started creating music when he was finishing middle school, saying that is when he actually picked up a pen and started writing. One day he just had this intoxicating feeling, knowing that he had a calling and a gift that just wasn’t cultivated yet. He remembers sitting down and putting words together to make them rhyme. It took a long time to develop to where he is at today, with plenty of practice along the way.
“It took a lot of polishing, but now it’s like second nature,” he said. “I can put a song together and don’t need to write anything down. I can just do it all in my head.”
SATEGA writes all his own lyrics, saying that he comes up with a flow, melody and harmony to get the full feel of the record. He focuses more on the writing, singing and rapping, but he works with quality producers who work to bring him the best beats that meet his style.
“I look for that connection with the beat, and for that inspiration to come through,” he said.
He said sometimes it is a slow process finding the beat that works, as some can sound appealing on first listen, but then a week later another might be the right sound. Much of this is because creating music involves what is going on in his life. Once the inspiration hits, SATEGA said it “flows like a waterfall.” It just comes out, and he starts piecing the record together.
“Things change and I think the more you hear something, it’s like reading a book,” he said. “If you read a book one time, that’s great. But if you read it a second time, you’re going to pick up on a lot of things that you didn’t that first time.”
While this is a single, but it could lead to an EP or possible album. The goal is to put out more music to appease the fans, and just keep on creating. He has a catalog that has enough to make two albums, and said there will be much more music to come. Down the line, he also hopes to get out on the road for some shows for listeners to hear in a live setting.
“I genuinely love making music,” he said. “It’s in me 100%. It’s not just a profitable endeavor, I genuinely love making this art. It brings me so much happiness and fulfillment. I make it for myself first, but I am so excited to make it for the fans and share it with the world.”
Be sure to check out “Blame It on Me” and the music of SATEGA, available on all major platforms. Also check out his website, which features his apparel line New Vintage.
ON THE RISE
Blossoms caught up with NME to discuss competing with The Beatles and Johnny Marr for this week’s Number One album. With ‘Songs From The Wedding Cake’ in the running, the band also explained why making things themselves remains such an important part of their work as AI becomes more common.
The Stockport group put out their sixth album last Friday, October 2. By the midweek update, it was sitting at Number Two, between The Beatles’ expanded edition of ‘Rubber Soul’ and Johnny Marr’s latest solo album, ‘The Age Of Everything’.
“It’s mad, to be honest,” singer Tom Ogden said to NME about the chart race. “Liverpool on one side, Manchester on the other and Stockport in the middle. If you’d told us this 10 years ago, when we were releasing our debut, I wouldn’t have believed you. But I mean, we’re in good company aren’t we?”
Discussing the stories behind the album, Ogden described ‘Songs From The Wedding Cake’ as “about being married and all the everyday stuff that comes with it”. He married Katie Donovan, the sister of Blossoms drummer Joe, in 2021. Married life has since given him a new appreciation for what he describes as “the extraordinary ordinary”.
“Saying the wrong thing in an argument, losing your wife’s no claims bonus, crying at the Kardashians, it’s all in there,” he explained. “The album is named after Stockport Town Hall, which everyone round where we live calls the Wedding Cake, and it’s where I got married, so it couldn’t be much closer to home.
“The last album [‘Gary’, 2024] had a song about a stolen fibreglass gorilla, which everyone loved, and that gave us the confidence to bring the same playfulness to this one, just with more personal subject matter this time.”
Alongside tracks that came out of writing sessions with Declan McKenna in a hot tub, the album reflects the band’s desire to stay involved in every part of the creative process.
“It started with the recording,” Ogden explained. “We made the album with Shawn Lee, playing live straight to tape, and once you’ve done it that way you can’t really go and fake everything else. We sat down as a band and picked the colour palette, and everything visual followed from that. We had body scans taken of ourselves and cake toppers of the five of us 3D printed, put them on a real cake and photographed it. I’ve directed and edited the videos, and the sets are all built by hand, no green screen. For the pop-up shop on launch weekend, a local artist hand-painted the album cover for the sign outside.
“It’s more work, but you end up with a world that’s yours, and I think people can tell when a band’s had its hands on everything.”
With AI tools and digital effects becoming increasingly widespread, that approach feels particularly relevant. For Blossoms, though, the motivation is simple: “the fun is in the making”.
“Tape doesn’t let you cheat and neither does a real cake,” Ogden said. “If a set’s a bit wonky, it’s because one of us or our mates built it. I think the more stuff gets generated, the more people want to know a human being actually did it. We’ve been in this band together for over 10 years, five lads from Stockport, and that isn’t something you can ‘prompt’.”
Maya Jama also appeared in the video for the album’s first single, ‘Meet Me In Love’. Her appearance came shortly before the UK launch of Celebrity Traitors, where she took on the role of a traitor alongside a cast that included Richard E Grant and James Acaster.
“She was brilliant,” Ogden recalled of working with Jama. “We’d met her at the MTV EMAs in Manchester a couple of years ago, so we took a chance and sent her a DM …and she said yes. Next thing she’s in a theatre in Cheadle miming my vocals while a load of people dressed as me serenade her. She got the idea straight away and was a proper laugh about it.”
The conversation then turned to whether he thought Jama could take home the win on Celebrity Traitors.
Ogden joked: “As for Traitors, she spent a whole day pretending to sing my song and I almost believed her, so I’d say she’s got every chance.”
Fans can listen to ‘Songs From The Wedding Cake’ now. In November, Blossoms head out on a UK arena tour with The Royston Club. Tickets and further details are available here.
Before the tour begins, the group is also scheduled to appear on SNL UK on Saturday, October 24.
