21 August 2026
Hip-hop and dance music are hugely collaborative genres: from B2Bs to cyphers, their strength lies in the sum of all their parts, whether through competition, improvisation or sample-flipping. While the adage ‘too many cooks in the kitchen’ comes to mind, Seattle-based multi-hyphenate Sango thrives on collaboration. He explains over Zoom, ‘that’s just the tendency of my creation. When I make music, I always have people in mind.’
His latest album, RHYTHM & MELODY, has been out for over a month – ‘a month—what?’ he replies in shock. The project takes the structure of a double album minus the typical sprawl: ‘It was a last-minute decision”, he explains. “We had twenty songs, and I didn’t want to intimidate the listeners… I always wanted to do a two-part album, and I’d subconsciously structured it like that.’ Although the project may be stylistically divided into ‘RHYTHM’ and ‘MELODY’, Sango acknowledges the intertwinedness of the two, saying, ‘It’s funny. They go back and forth. There are songs in the first half that are melodic but anchored by rhythm. On the other half, there are songs that have heavy drums but are anchored melodically.’ Across both sides, there are tracks that define the project – ‘I’d definitely say I-96 for RHYTHM. That’s the main freeway running through Detroit and Michigan. For Melody, I’d say it’s definitely Duet with Smino.’ He then hurriedly interjects, ‘Actually, I’d change that; it’s Settle.’ I suppose asking a producer for their defining tracks is like asking who their favourite child is.
Despite a focus on two building blocks of music in a back-to-basics approach, Sango’s work grew beyond the beat tape he’d initially set out to make. ‘It’s more of a display of modern Black American music through my eyes as a producer who considers themselves an artist. Like Madlib or J Dilla,’ he explains. ‘The main theme is my ear. It’s about producing… The album is about showcasing hip-hop, R&B and beat culture through sampling, chops, drums and chords. It’s all my friends I’m working with too,’ I suggest his project is a love letter, and he excitedly agrees – ‘That’s exactly what it is! It’s my love letter.’
In the buildup to the album, Sango had stated this project had ‘something for everyone’ – a statement that could risk crowd-pleasing, play-it-safe tactics. “I’m a producer… We can’t help but try something else, as we aren’t constrained by a vocal range or tempo. We’re not on every song rapping,’ he takes a beat before conceding, ‘You do have rappers like Kanye or J Cole, and they know what they want when they make music. They’re going for a style, whereas us [producers] are just diving in and having fun with it.’ Sango pauses before answering any question about intention and experimentation, measuring his thoughts before continuing. ‘Every producer album is, in a sense, a compilation. It’s hard to anchor down anything if you’re not willing to go there with sounds. Subconsciously, I think it was intentional. It’s in my nature as a music maker.’ He closes, asserting, ‘I’m not people-pleasing. I’m more like a restaurant, and I’ve got a vegan dish. It’s not because I only like vegan food, but I want to show I can make a really tasty vegan dish.’
A double album built around two core components is an ambitious move, yet Sango has consistently moved through genres for fun throughout his career. ‘This is my fourth proper album,’ he clarifies, ‘I have to explain my other albums alongside this one. My first album North was of its time’, before laughing, ‘it was me making SoundCloud-era music.’ He’s jumped from the likes of Baile funk fusion on the Da Rocinha series to collab tapes with Xavier Omär – again affirming ‘producers are just endlessly doing stuff, like another person’s single, a DJ set or an album. I think this album [RHYTHM & MELODY] is the child of all my albums so far. There’s no way I could’ve made this album without growing.’ With the resulting project already bold in concept, Sango admits he dialled the concept down: ‘I wanted to make this album, mix and master it, then record a DJ set to chop up for platforms. I thought that might be tough for listeners, though,’ before laughing and admitting, ‘maybe I was being too ambitious.’
RHYTHM & MELODY has more than twenty features – a case of risking ‘too many cooks.’ Yet, Sango knew exactly what this group of voices added to this project. ‘There’s definitely a sense of home with each person,’ he explains. ‘With people like Xavier Omär, Dave B or even Smino, there’s familiarity to it… You don’t have to think too much about it.’ He gushes, ‘every little detail I’d need from an artist, they’d deliver without me asking. That’s what I love about working with people I’ve either just met through close friends or are a close friend.’ Using another analogy, Sango says, ‘You ever have a barber, and he goes out of town so he recommends you someone else? You understand why they trust them.’ He stops before saying, ‘That’s like the Big Sean record [BIG LITTLE LIES]… One of my good friends, Jay John, asked Sean if I could have the song for my album… It’s kinda full circle with that. Me trusting someone else to execute a plan I’d wanted is from years of cultivating good relationships or doing favours for people.’ He laughs before continuing, ‘Honestly, this album is full of favours. There’s no way I could’ve done this without being a kind person.’
Despite the many favours pulled to secure features, Sango understands the importance of leaving space for his own voice. ‘At the start, I was wondering if I was going to commit to this being an instrumental project’ he admits. ‘The first song that made me realise it was album time was BE THE LIGHT THAT YOU ARE. That was the standout instrumental; it’s super beat culture. I’ve always been known for beat tapes and keeping that culture alive.’ Conceding this album is mostly for collaboration, he adds, ‘I actually plan on doing another instrumental tape. Very soon.’
After 15 years of experimentation, Sango is still finding new angles – some closer to home than expected. ‘I grew up listening to Chicago footwork and Juke with my cousins,’ Sango explains. ‘I finally dove into it with I FINALLY FOUND THE WORDS TO SAY. It was a real moment for me – I really nailed the Chicago footwork song and put it out in a Sango way!’ This emphasis on roots is important, as the Brazil-funk of Da Rocinha reemerges on this project through a new lens – ‘SOL NO RJ with Lucas Carlos. It’s a Detroit-meets-Brazil R&B song, but with a Detroit rap feel.’ Despite more milestones hit, Sango keeps looking forward: ‘The possibilities are endless,’ he beams. ‘I’m at a point in my career where I’m asking, what haven’t I done yet that makes sense?
Across our Zoom call, a common thread keeps returning: Sango primarily considers himself a producer – one whose credits include work with Frank Ocean and Drake. ‘It’s a different part of my brain I use when I’m working with artists because I’m of service’, he acknowledges, ‘people have to realise producers have something for everyone… I feel like I’ve learned a lot just working behind the scenes with big artists, even just pulling strings together.’ Directly acknowledging the album’s roots as a DJ set, Sango admits he learned a lot about sequencing from one artist – ‘Drake has some of the greatest album sequencing in rap – his album More Life particularly.’ At its core, creative collaboration is built on trust, and Sango understands this. ‘A lot of people heard the song and said, ‘Play no more; this is what I want to work with’… they don’t want to be bombarded with loads of ideas. They want something simple because they trust me – it goes hand in hand. Their trust in me and my trust in them to deliver something for my album.’ Again raving about his collaborators, Sango gives them their flowers: ‘It’s a super divine thing. I lucked out with the people I worked with on this album.’
Sango’s claim of being ‘first and foremost a producer’ slightly downplays the fact that he’s also a DJ and a visual artist – holding a degree in graphic design from Western Michigan University. RHYTHM & MELODY marks his first release with Mass Appeal. ‘This album is me expanded: it’s all my ideas, but now I have a team outside my management’, he explains. ‘I’d have these visual ideas, and hand them to a graphic design team who’d flesh them into a full vinyl gatefold… I’d have ideas for a rollout, and a film team would understand what I want without me having to explain it…The roles were definitely amplified on this project.’ Now having a team behind his ideas, Sango is more confident in future plans: ‘This is just the beginning. I’m in rollout mode,’ he asserts. ‘Like Tyler, The Creator said, the rollout should be more than just the week of the album. It should be all year. The rest of the year will now just be me talking about the album until I tour.’
Togetherness and collaboration have been pillars of Sango’s career since he joined Soulection around 2011. Nearly 15 years later, they remain vital to his career. ‘Soulection is a home base. It’s now multimedia… It’s an experience. I feel like being tied into it from the start to now, and still being around, is a sign of consistency, as a lot of people come and go… I pray for 15 more years,’ he pauses before adding with a laugh, ’30 years of Soulection. We’d be ancient.’ The Soulection brand operates like a collective, bringing the grassroots into the mainstream. It’s easy to see why Sango values collaboration as much as he does, particularly on RHYTHM & MELODY. ‘When I approached this project, I had a formula. Kind of like muscle memory… I feel like past experiences have prepared me for this moment, and this album I’m dropping may be preparing me for something else coming,’ he explains. ‘Being part of Soulection prepped me to navigate putting together so many elements and making them cohesive. This album is super complex – so many features, styles, chords and songs!’
On 16 August, Sango played at Soulection’s 15th-anniversary event at Magazine Open-Air on the Greenwich Peninsula. ‘In a non-cliché way, I feel honoured to live another day and do what I do in this space,’ he states, audibly humbled. ‘I’m not signed to a major label, so I have a say in what I can do… It’s total freedom to go on that stage and know people are coming to see music we’ve cultivated,’ Sango adds. ‘It’s an ecosystem. If we can all humble ourselves and say we’re just as influenced by the people we’ve influenced, it shows that everyone brings something to the table. It’s a beautiful thing.’
Despite Soulection’s roots in LA, its 15th anniversary event was held in London – a place more used to garage, jungle or trance. ‘Joe Kay [Soulection co-founder] might’ve said this, but outside of LA, you’d find the most reception in London,’ Sango asserts. ‘You lot have always been forward-thinking. In my opinion, London has always been the tastemaker capital of music. Even if it doesn’t start there, you guys are always getting onto something the rest of the world should know about. You can’t break in the States first; you have to break it in London.’
Sango’s passion for collaboration and the musical history of his home city is utterly infectious – frequently digressing from his own creative process to educate everyone on the call about the Chicago roots of various genres. ‘It’s funny because when DJ Rashad was alive, they were touring in Europe first. Some Black folks in America call techno “white people music” because it had to break over there first,’ he says with audible exasperation. ‘I just think, are you insane? House music is Black music.’ He then moves to drill’s journey from Chicago to London and back to New York: ‘It became your sound to the point Pop Smoke had to rap on a London beat and bring it back to New York.’ He adds, ‘If you listen to original drill from Chicago back in the day, a song by Lil Bibby called ‘Kill Shit’ was the first time you heard that tap-tap-tap-tap hi-hat sound. That’s Chicago.’
At this Magazine Open-Air show, Sango finally debuted tracks from the album live during a DJ set. ‘It felt so great. It definitely translates,’ he says. ‘You have this question when you’re creating: will people connect with it? There are a few songs I’m going to rinse… You have to trust your music; even if it’s new, you have to play it out.’
‘Big shoutout to Mass Appeal,’ Sango states when asked if there’s anyone else he wants to acknowledge or give their flowers. ‘Having a hip-hop label put out a hip-hop album I always wanted to put out is perfect’, before adding, ‘I never say that because life isn’t, but this is. It was written, as Nas says. Nas is my favourite lyricist of all time, and to work with him and play him my album before it came out, it’s a dream come true.’ Throughout our call, Sango comes across as humble and thoroughly in love with his craft, offering a refreshingly open insight into his creative process as an artist who is proud of his roots but always wondering where he can go next.
Words + Interview: Keir Shields