WE F*CK WITH: SAIMING
FEATURES - MUSIC - WE F*CK WITH
TUESDAY 20TH MAY 2025
WORDS BY AMALIA CASTLE
Having first arrived on the scene in 2022, South-London native Saiming has been romancing with the genres that raised him amongst a community of like minded individuals looking to reimagine the sounds of grime. Splicing and fusing the genre’s dextrous flows with soulful neo-jazz production, Saiming is the poster-child for how community and collaboration are driving the UK underground scene, which he showcases through his sophomore project, ‘what’s the alternative?’
When I first got off my call with Saiming, a warm and gentle presence at the other end of the zoom, there was one phrase that had begun running laps around my mind; it was that Saiming has made ‘a house a home’ with his music and most recent project what’s the alternative?. While this phrase is more likely to muster images of a wooden pyrocraft sign from TK Maxx or kitschy ‘Gin O’Clock’ memorabilia, than it is a rapper who’s creating music inspired by the sounds of grime, drill and neo-jazz; it fits. Through music, community, and collaboration Saiming is an artist reshaping the architecture of his corner of the scene. Not just building a name for himself, but building something others can step into. He tells me candidly, “there's so much more that you can make when people are putting their minds together”.
With the help of many of his close friends and co-creators he’s been knocking through the genre’s walls, rearranging the furniture, and inviting others in, each playing their unique part on his output. Whether it’s singer Nayana AB inspiring him to consider the depth in his songwriting, the influence of grassroots London jam sessions like ORII on his fluid live performances, his own collective Da Community showcasing the importance of collaboration, or even his sister, whose passion for politics has led him to more poignant songwriting, he’s quick to name the humble influences on his doorstep with the same reverence he gives to the platinum-selling artists who’ve shaped his sound. For Saiming, these people and places are more than just inspirations for a career being built, and are rather elements of a home being lived in - one filled with countless records, loud music and friends ready to step up, perform and welcome the next great artist onto their stage.
Having recently surpassed 5 million streams on fan-favourite release ‘WOOF MEOW’, for Saiming this isn’t just a regular launchpad to the next tier of his career; instead, it’s an opportunity to welcome more collaborators through the front door. “One of the biggest reasons I like to make music and put music out there is that I can collaborate with more people” he tells me, “Having songs that do numbers just means that way more people hear the music, and amongst other musicians you then have more people that you can reach out to”. The song’s ripple effect speaks for itself, as he muses on how ‘WOOF MEOW’s success put him on the radar of some of the heralded producers he worked with on ‘what’s the alternative?’.
While his community sits at the heart of his catalogue, some of the greats also share a seat at the table. Dialling into our call I knew I was in safe sonic hands, as I saw Saiming atop a backdrop of seminal albums and EPs. Playing a game of spot the vinyl, I was quick to recognise Kendrick’s ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’, Venna’s ‘Equinox’ EP, Nia Archives ‘Silence is Loud’ and finally Warren G’s ‘G Funk Era’. This album, he explains, “was the first hip hop, or rap album that I fell in love with as a kid…within that era of hip hop, there was so much sampling of jazz, soul and neo soul and there's a big instrumental influence from that kind of time”. While Saiming’s current catalogue, and particularly his most recent sophomore project, is teeming with jazz and soul sampling, it’s impossible not to pay attention to his deft flow and slick lyricism. The artists who taught him are closer to home and well-loved titans in the UK rap scene, he indulges, saying, “There’s so many, lyrically, but my biggest inspirations are definitely people like JME, Dave and Little Simz”.
Saiming is from Lambeth, and while growing up so close to one of the epicentres of UK rap - Brixton - and a life surrounded by vibrant music, food and culture has undoubtedly left its mark, he admits it’s not always easy to pinpoint exactly how, “I think it's hard to say how something has influenced you if you've only ever known it… Brixton has got a huge history of black British diaspora, especially with Caribbean influence that naturally influences so many things. Even from the way we talk, that is so influenced by Patois and slang that comes from the Caribbean”.
His neighbourhood’s starkest imprint seems to be on Saiming’s ability to weave subtleties of drill - a genre often known for its intensity - into his catalogue. Even if unintentional, drill bleeds into his cadence and production almost instinctively. “I don't make drill music” he admits, “but if you listen to some of my songs you'll hear drum patterns and things that are obviously from drill music. UK Drill started in Brixton, so that's had a big influence on the sound that I make and the flows that I might write”.
While the influences on his doorstep are singular, it’s Saiming’s eclectic taste and nostalgic sensitivity to rap that’s drawn him closer to a community of like-minded artists, including a trusted circle of producers all grafting to engineer a new-wave sound. Notably, BexBlu and t.o, who both worked with Saiming on his latest project, have been at the forefront of this movement, racking up millions of streams and views online with their mellow reworks of early 2000s JME, Skepta, and beyond. Saiming’s work with the producers on ‘what’s the alternative?’ came together effortlessly; built on past work, personal relationships, strong creative alignments and a love for the same music. “I’m just trying to combine the genres that I enjoy listening to the most”, he puts simply.
Producers like Maniko were instrumental in steering the project into the colourful terrain of live instrumentation. “I know [her] very well and she's also a jazz keys player and so ‘belongz freestyle’” - the opening track on his latest project - “is the track we have together and was the first song I made with the intention of it being on a project. Everything based off of that [track] fell into place”. While his affinity for performing with live instruments predates his most recent project, it’s thanks to his long-standing alliance with London-born jam sessions like ORII, and a recent collaboration with jazz band Zeñel on the single ‘know us’, that has helped shape his connection to more organic performance. “We're used to being around live instruments, and performing with live instruments. Only now we're working them into the music”. As a genre typically grounded in digitally produced beats and chopped samples, Saiming’s approach to production is refreshing and serves as a signpost to a community of artists drawn to a more traditional way of working. “I’m working on putting together my own band eventually” he explains enthusiastically, “It's a different feeling when you go and see a live band perform, you really feel like the music is everywhere.”
‘what’s the alternative?’ is a sophisticated and confident 7-track EP that’s home-grown, hand-made, yet polished on every surface. Framed as a question, the project’s title reflects a tension that Saiming has felt while navigating his music, “I think a lot of the project is about [there being] a lot of uncertainty for me. I'm trying to be certain that this is what I should be doing with music, but it's hard to be confident”. While the EP serves as an ode to his personal growth as an artist, Saiming also steps back from the magnifying glass, acknowledging the bigger picture, “when I think of the political state of the country and where the world is at right now, it just feels like there must be an alternative, because it's not serving any of us”.
In tracks like ‘phineas’ where Saiming brandishes a frank, observational lens as he raps “I can never rate Candace Owens, I can never rate UK MPs now look at the cash they're blowing…I was 14 banging out grime and I wished they’d elected Jeremy Corbyn”. He feels like he’s growing here, he doesn’t want to shy away from politics and expresses his responsibility as an artist to touch on the underbelly many turn a blind eye to. Partially thanks to his sister’s interest in politics, he adds laughing, “she was like, when are you going to start getting political with your music?”. As Saiming winds down a path past the personal, the light-hearted and the political ‘phineas’ blends into the EP’s final destination ‘queens’, with the help of a live saxophone transition performed by Saiming’s friend Maddie. ‘queens’, he tells me, held the most weight for him while creating ‘what’s the alternative?’
“It’s like a diary entry…it took me a long time to make that song, and a lot of emotion went into it. I lost my auntie last January around the time I started making this project. That had had a very big impact on my life, so I made that song for her”.
After taking a seat in the welcoming confines of his corner of the UK underground, one thing becomes clear; Saiming’s latest project and the community around him are both built on a strong foundation of care, intention and conviction. While grime and jazz carved out their legacies long before Saiming first began releasing music, it’s he and his collaborators who have a collective hand on both genres’ needles, swinging them with startling precision into new, refreshing territories. ‘whats the alternative?’ is an amalgam of all Saiming’s work to reinvent the sounds that he loves, and in turn cementing his name as one of the most exciting UK rappers on offer today.
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