The way they kicked off the interview:
MK: So…I’m famous.
GS: So, he thinks he’s famous.
Sarango and Kasirye (who also are known as ‘Dark Blue’ and ‘Tha Jist,’ respectively) both went to Boston College High School, but did not start working together until they were sophomores in college, after a mutual friend who knew that they were both into music suggested they get together. “That is when I became aware that he did production,” Kasirye said, “On top of work, we realized we saw eye to eye on a lot of things, so we became friends. And he’s a thug.”
KN: Anything to add?
GS: Not really…
MK: How about our first kiss?
Kasirye (previously a Her Campus NU Campus Cutie), was born in Kenya, raised in Uganda, moved to Canada when he was six and finally settled in Boston at 13. As a kid, he had heart problems, so though he was good at sports, his parents decided to get him involved with music in case his heart ever became a huge issue. At six, he started piano and then moved on to drums. That, in combination with “an infatuation with words” is what led him to become the incredible artist he is now.
Sarango, on the other hand, is a Bostonian through and through. He was born and raised in Hyde Park, among a family rich with musical and artistic talent. Recorder lessons started before kindergarten, then came chorus and drums, followed by piano in 4th grade. “I would mess around with anything I could get my hands on. My cousin gave me a guitar in middle school and that’s when I really got into music, since that’s the age you start listening to music.” Eventually Sarango bought a bootleg version of a recording program, to record himself playing guitar. Messing around with the program, he began layering drumbeats over the guitar, and it stuck. The rest was, as they say, producing history.
MK: And he’s a f***ing boss.
GS: And I’m a f***ing boss.
When I asked about the names, Tha Jist and Dark Blue, I was answered with a burst of laughter. After several minutes of half started sentences that ended up in more fits of laughter, Kasirye and Sarango finally settled down enough to tell me the story.
MK: My name used to be Muy the Boy Wonder. [Another pause for laughs]
GS: When he was fighting crime, back in his crime fighting days.
MK: When I started at 11, that name made sense, by 15, 16, it didn’t make sense anymore. I had it down to two names, one was Primo, which I’m glad I didn’t go with. Tha Jist was more fitting. People generally don’t understand what I’m talking about, so you usually only get the gist of what I’m saying. There is a difference between Muy and Tha Jist, Tha Jist is “the gist” of Muy, the portion I give out to the world.
Sarango’s story was a bit different. He said, “The way I look at music, I’ve always related it to colors, ‘this song is very bluish, or purplish.’ I made a beat, one of my favorites, and named it Dark Blue because that is what I saw when I heard it. I had wanted a new name [previously he was called Arkitech], and I thought of a few different ideas, but what kept coming up was this beat. I thought it represented my approach [to music].”
You can hear this “dark blue” beat on Tha Jist’s latest EP, No Idea. It’s a song called Wonder. No Idea came out this past August, and has been blowing up the Internet (and my iTunes) ever since. Last May, Kasirye and Sarango released their first EP, Scrap Paper. While Scrap Paper got a tremendous response (and certified this writer as a fan4lyfe), it only scratched the surface of Kasirye and Sarango as musicians. “I’ve come to find art interesting,” Kasirye explained, “we wanted to basically put that to paper, to put it to audio for people to enjoy. We wanted something more meaningful for ourselves, and hoped it would then make it more meaningful to other people. It was a lot of f***ing work. The response has been good. It’s really personal.” The greatest thing, he said, is knowing that “at the time we put it out, it’s the best, considering everything, we could have done. It feels good knowing that. Feels good to give it to people, because it’s the best we could have done.”
Their main goal for this Fall and the following year is to get this most recent project out there. “We want to make sure this is the front of everything we have to present to the public, then move forward. We’re basically re-branding right now.” Though a fall tour didn’t work out, Kasirye will be performing in afterHOURS on November 21st, so be sure not to miss that show!
KN: Last question, describe your friendship in one word.
MK: Can’t.
GS: Impossible.
MK: Brotherhood?
GS: Hatred?
[Laughs]
GS: It’s very, uhh, what’s the word? It’s very real, very honest. We love each other, that’s a really important part of the whole situation. I’m really picky with who I work with, and I know he is too. And it wouldn’t work if we weren’t as close as we are, weren’t like brothers. Maybe, tolerant?
KN: Final comments?
MK: Go to the website, tell all your friends to download No Idea, cause it’s free. Allegedly, it doesn’t suck.
GS: It’s free!
MK: Yeah, so if it does suck, it sucks for free. [laughs] Check it out!