One of the songs in Sasi The Don’s upcoming album, My Second Wave, is called ‘Humpty Dumpty’. The music video, which will release on December 18, features princesses and unicorns and is shot in Bookxcess, a big bookstore in Malaysia. The setting is quite unusual for a reggae track.
“Yes,” laughs Sasi in agreement, “We thought of multiple options for the video. But there were a lot of places we couldn’t go to because of the pandemic. So, it was just these big garages and godowns — places that are stereotypical for a rap or reggae song.” ‘Humpty Dumpty’, he says, isn’t a stereotypical reggae song. The music is catchy; the video, with unicorns and children, is child-friendly but the lyrics are hard-hitting. Sample this verse: ‘People want a change, they want dem voice to get louder, Humpty makes a song about everything people wonder.’
For ‘Humpty Dumpty’, Sasi collaborated with 24-year-old fellow Malaysian rapper, E.L.I. “I initially thought of doing the song alone. But one of the lines goes, ‘Yes mi brother, together we can prosper’. So, I thought I’ll introduce new talent. And, he has done a great job.”
My Second Wave, he says, will evoke optimism and joy. “We have big challenges ahead of us. We are also seeing social and political changes. The vaccine is expected soon. So, we have to hope for the best.” The album includes his collaborations with Abhijeet Sawant, Anuradha Sriram, Apache Indian and Maxi Priest. It features five new tracks and five of his previous works and will release on January 18 on CDs.
CDs? “Yes, I guess I wanted to go old school,” he laughs. “After ‘Daddy Don’ [a single released this year], some of my followers messaged me saying they would like to have a copy of my album. I thought, ‘why not?’. I am not against streaming platforms — it is a privilege to have access to music across the world. But a physical copy of a song has a special place — people from the ‘80s and ‘90s would understand this. You see, vinyl is making a comeback; I think CDs might too.”