SEBASTIAN MIKAEL - The DOPE MAG Interview

The truest artists, they enter our lives with their music. The realest listeners, we reside beside them as neighboring fans. A symbiotic relationship in which the two coexist in the world of art: a creative community. Our lives merging in one lane, within a musical museum to avoid both the traffic of mediocrity and the isolation of our own magic.

Enter Sebastian Mikael, an R&B singer-songwriter and stylish savant in the most artistic of times. Born and raised in Sweden, the rising star with the fresh voice is a refreshing face on the industry scene. He plays guitar and piano, writes for himself and others, and is signed to Slip-N-Slide with a cursive cosign from music magnate Sylvia Rhone.

After studying the fundamentals at both California’s Musicians Institute and Boston’s esteemed Berkeley College of Music, the personable chick-magnet with the (sometimes) golden grill and (always) flare for the effortlessly fly attire unleashed a series of memorable singles and mixtapes. Namely, his debut mixtape “J’Adore”; the popular singles “Forever” and “Last Night”; and his latest sonic statement in the “Waiting Game” mixtape which offers the beauty of a ballad “Made For Me”, a duet with Teyana Taylor.

With a new single in “4U” featuring Rick Ross dropping soon and his debut album “Speechless” scheduled for a June 24^th release, Sebastian kicked it with DOPE MAG editor ToneSwep to talk perfect pied-a-terre’s, ladies who laugh, and ending global conflicts “once and for all.”

written by ToneSwep

images by Josh Peters

Read the Full Length Interview

(ToneSwep: TS) Sometimes artists just get in a zone. I think you’re there now. “Last Night” with Wale. “Forever”. “4U” with Rozay. And everyone is loving “Made For Me” with Teyana Taylor. Do you feel like you’re in the zone?

(Sebastian Mikael: Sebastian) I feel like I’m definitely on my way. Good thing is that I have so much more I want to put out. For me it’s about telling stories, you know. The album really tells stories. It’s a very personal album. The mixtape is songs that didn’t make the album. I had them and didn’t want that music, that art, to just sit there. But I do feel like I’m on my way to being in that zone you speak of.

(TS) As recently as five years ago, many R&B fans felt as though they were suffering from a lack of music. There just weren’t enough artists bringing that signature sound. Now, there’s You, August Alsina, Jason Derulo, B. Smyth, SZA, Elle Varner, Lyrica Anderson, Teaira Thomas, and other young R&B artists delivering quality music. What’s your take on this rhythmic resurgence?

(Sebastian) I think that it’s a great thing. A great thing that more and more R&B artists are showing up. What R&B was lacking that Hip Hop has is that there weren’t as many artists working together and collaborating. Not enough artists themselves supporting each other’s music. Now it’s a new generation of talent coming up. And I draw a lot of sounds and elements from soul and rock classics, so it still extends from then to now. People need to hear music, the music that stays. Music they can listen to for years. I think several of us are creating that level of music again. That’s great.

(TS) You have a unique background for an R&B artist, originating from Sweden. And also a diverse ethnic background. Does this play a part in the uniqueness of your sound?

(Sebastian) I think what really shaped me was how I grew up. Growing up in Sweden and being mixed. Living in a mixed household. My mom is Egyptian. My dad is Swedish. There was a lot of racial tension in Sweden when I was growing up. Music really became my escape. I listened to and studied Marvin Gaye and Sade, artists of that period who my parents listened to. When I started school (college) in the states, it wasn’t really about school. I mean, education is very important and I took my studies seriously. But for me, school was really a means of my staying in this country. So when I got the opportunity to attend school here in the U.S., I took it. But my music career was still my main focus.

(TS) With the J’Adore mixtape you arrived with a bang. Then the “Forever” single hit hard. Now the buzz from your recently released “Waiting Game” mixtape is big. What can we expect from your debut album “Speechless” on June 24^th?

(Sebastian) I am drawing a lot from how I grew up. And it talks a lot about everything I’m going through right now. Love, hate, partying, relationships, success, everything. My intention was to make a very relatable album. That’s what I’m excited about. The Waiting Game mixtape is out of this world and gives people a nice introduction. But the album has a very different feel from the mixtape.

(TS) As both a songwriter for yourself and others, is there a difference in your process to creating for your own projects versus creating for the projects of other artists?

(Sebastian) It’s the same for me. Same thing. When I write for others I still pen from a first person perspective. Because we all go through many of the same things in life, just in different places and with different people. We all go through pain, hurt, joy, victories, losses. Your experiences will be similar to that of others. My main thing is just making sure to bring those emotions into the words.

(TS) You live in New York. What are you into when you’re not making music?

(Sebastian) I’m still always making music, or doing something that has to do with art and fashion. Just being creative in general. Enjoying life every day. We go out. We party. Have fun and enjoy life in the city.

(TS) Sometimes we see you dressed up, other times casual, and then other times in street wear. Might even catch ‘Bastian with the gold grill. You switch the styles up more than most.

(Sebastian) I do. I wear a lot of different looks. I’m actually designing hats now and you’ve probably seen me in those. That was something I wanted to delve into, designing, even if it’s just for me and people I know to wear. I’m always just being me. My style is whatever I feel like doing that day. I’m more into rare couture types, and some Italian looks. But I like things people haven’t paid attention to yet. I never focus on what’s hot right now. I just go with what I think is hot.

(TS) I want to know what the ideal Sebastian Mikael bachelor pad and car combo would consist of? Loft in London? Pied-a-terre in Tokyo? Penthouse in Sao Paulo?

(Sebastian) (Laughs!). I like that. Yeah! Man… A penthouse in Tokyo is what’s up. That sounds DOPE. I would do that for sure. And it would probably be right in the city in Tokyo, too. And as for cars I like Audi’s. I’d be pushing that Audi through Tokyo (Laughs!).

(TS) The ladies. The ladies. The ladies. What are the key characteristics you find most attractive in a lady?

(Sebastian) Appearance and personality. To be honest, it’s actually not common to find both. Personality is very important. But right now I’m so focused on music at this very moment. Focused on my career. So, I’m always open but not looking.

(TS) What excites you most about life? What inspires you?

(Sebastian) I think that what motivates me the most are the fans. People who rock with my music. And also life itself. Living. Just living, you know. That’s what it’s about. Fans appreciating and relating to my music. That’s my main thing as an artist. It’s so much bigger than me. It’s about people. It’s about art. That and life. How can my music be a part of someone else’s life?

(TS) If you had the power to change one thing about the world, what would it be and why?

(Sebastian) It would be to squash all the conflicts between people with different religions. Conflicts that have to do with religion. That’s the worst because the conflict is coming from a place where both sides are passionate, but maybe about the wrong thing. Usually they were brainwashed by someone who took their belief and twisted it to make them hate a group or a nation or another’s religion or something. So I would put an end to those conflicts. And then you look at what happened in Nigeria, I mean… that’s an example. It’s tragic. I would put an end to those conflicts once and for all.