The new Wale mixtape is done (and dropping this Friday!), which got me thinking back to the first artist tape I ever made with Saul Williams, in the bygone summer of ‘05 when I was working in the same office as Saul’s (and at the time, MIA’s) manager.

Wasn’t crazy about each and every one of his originals, but there was a ton of clever shit going on underneath the robot rock, and dude was a mesmerizing live performer. After one particularly sweaty show the lightbulb went off to put his tracks over some clubbier beats. For the kids. Everyone was still amped off Piracy Funds Terrorism (the working title for the tape was even Poetry Funds Terrorism), I had fun putting it together on my own, and Saul loved the finished mixes.

Once it was completely finished, he decided to rename the tape Real Niggery. It sort of let the air out of the balloon as far as promo was concerned. Some people got it and really enjoyed it. Other people got it and completely misunderstood the concept (which on the musical side wasn’t really that deep). But at least we can now look back and say… first!

Here’s a zshare from the archives.