Over the past month, First Words alumni and renowned New Brunswick Hip Hop producer Sean One quietly released his first new music in three years.
Matt Carter
Sean One has never been one to toot his own horn. After more than twenty years spent making beats, producing albums and contributing music to the likes of Fortunato, Ghettosocks, MONARK and others, the First Words co-founder and MC has always preferred to let his music follow its own course. No pre-release hype. No post-release boasting. In a genre so closely associated with a culture of self-importance, Sean One stands alone.
While it’s been more than three years since the last time he released new music of his own – a lengthy period of time by any artist’s standards – Sean One has kept busy composing beats with monastic discipline, continuously refining his craft and exploring new ways to put his music out into the world.
In March of 2018, he finally broke his silence with the release of the four-track EP, Green.
“I really wanted to start putting out more music,” he said. “I wanted to show people how many beats I actually make, and I wanted to come up with an idea or a theme that I could continue to use in the future. After coming up with several ideas, I decided to go with colours. There are a lot of them and you can match them with seasons or events, use complementary colours, or even shades. I made the first one on St. Patrick’s Day, so I called it Green.”
Following this first EP, Red, Blue, Orange, Violet and Pink soon followed.
“[After releasing Green] I did a series of complementary colours,” he said. “I also did Pink and Violet over the Easter weekend. I’ve put out six so far. The beats for each release are all made in one session. I usually make six to eight beats and use the best four. I also wanted to challenge myself, so I only sampled one artist for each colour.”
Well worth the wait, Sean One’s latest series of releases offers a long overdue glimpse into the world and creative mind of one of New Brunswick music’s best kept secrets. Have a listen to Green and be sure to visit Sean One on Bandcamp to hear the complete series.
