Mae Day Interview: SXSW 2010

Posted on Mar 15th 2010 9:00PM by Shyema Azam
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When you first hear the name Mae Day, you might think about the distress signal. Detroit-based rapper Mae Day answered her calling with her talented rhymes that have helped shape the Detroit hip hop and R&B scene since 2004. A former college basketball player, Mae Day says she transferred the discipline she learned on the court and took it straight to the studio. In February 2008, she released the experimental "Cherish the Day: The Mae/Sade Experience," where she fuses her lyrics with the sounds and samples of singer Sade, one of her biggest influences. We talked to the lyrical MC about what she's looking forward to on her return to SXSW and what she and a 1985 James Bond movie have in common.

Describe your sound in your own words.

It's definitely soulful. A lot of my influences come from the '60s and '70s R&B era of Motown. It has all different types of moods and emotions, but all based on soul and lyricism and a real passion for the art of music.

How did you get your start?

It really wasn't discovery and much as it was a journey. I was playing basketball in college and things weren't really panning out, so I decided I needed to go back to my original first love, which was the arts and music. I came home to Detroit and just knew I had to write every day. A few people began hearing my rhymes, and it was just a trickle effect from there, and eventually getting to De Notes.

What are your musical influences?

Most people already know that Sade is a big influence for me, especially since my album is a fusion of my music with hers. There's also Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Anita Baker, a lot of soul singers. On the flip side, you also have hip hop. I'm an early Jay-Z fan. I love Outkast, especially Andre 3000 and just a lot of those lyrical MCs.

How did you come up with your name?

One day I was at the studio, and everyone was like you need a name that fits your music and lets people know how serious your talent is. I went online and came across the 1985 James Bond movie, "A View to a Kill," where he had his first black female counterpart, May Day, played by Grace Jones. Mayday is also a distress call in war, and it just sounded perfect.

What's your biggest vice?

I have a passion for food and fashion. When I'm not doing music, one of those two things are going down.

What's in your festival survival kit?

It's a must to have my Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses and it's a must to have an extra little towel because it gets ridiculously hot in Austin. And good, comfortable shoes - some type of kicks with the gel soles in them.

Who was your first celeb crush?

This is going sound weird but I used to really like Prince. I know he's really androgynous and I guess I shouldn't have been attracted to him. But something about the music he was making -- that whole sex appeal. That man had the type of energy I used to love.

What's the music scene like in Michigan?

Extremely talented. I just find that we don't have the same resources like other cities where there are more labels. I've never seen so much talent in one state in my life, and I've been to a lot of places. It's not just about me being from here, but me being honest. It's just homegrown talent.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

I like Taylor Swift, I'm sorry. I don't have her album or anything, but that one song where there's a cheerleader and she says "I'm in the bleachers" -- when I first heard that I was like "Wow."

Can you explain the Mae/Sade experience?

It started from an idea sparked by MC Serch. We're both fans of Sade's music, and he saw the sounds being so complimentary to each other. We tried to fuse a couple tracks of my sound with Sade and it came out amazing. I wanted to have some integrity about it. I tried to make it where if you didn't know better, you would think me and Sade were in the studio together.

What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced while on tour?

When I first saw Dead Prez at the SXSW festival last year, I walked right up to M-1 and said, "Hi, I'm Mae Day," and he's like, "Mae Day from Detroit?" I was like wow, this is the biggest honor and compliment. They welcomed me with open arms.

Shyema Azam is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.