Sa-Roc

Rapper Sa-Roc combined technically acrobatic flows, socially conscious lyrics, and clean production for a series of releases that established her as a formidable force in independent hip-hop throughout the 2010s. She went from self-distributed mixtapes to signing with the Rhymesayers label, which released her 2020 album The Sharecropper's Daughter. Sa-Roc was born Assata Perkins in Washington, D.C. at the end of 1981. She was involved in both music and activism from an early age, rapping as early as 2002. It was around then that she dropped out of college and left D.C. for Atlanta, where she became immersed in the city’s vibrant music scene. Her first releases came out in 2008, including both her debut EP, Astral Chronicles, and the mixtape Supernova. Sa-Roc developed a collaborative relationship with DJ/producer Sol Messiah, who helped with the production of what became a prolific string of releases over the course of the next decade. Sa-Roc refined a lyrical style that drew from both social awareness and painful personal experiences. She grew as a lyricist and a rapper as her catalog expanded with releases like 2011′s Ether Warz, 2014′s Nebuchadnezzar, and 2015 mixtape The Legend of Black Moses. She signed on with Rhymesayers in 2016 and shifted her focus to releasing singles, with new tracks arriving periodically for the next several years. In addition to songs like 2018′s “Forever” gaining significant traction, Sa-Roc was invited to perform at NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series, bringing her conscious hip-hop to a slew of new listeners. These gains in exposure were all leading up to the release of her first studio album for Rhymesayers, The Sharecropper's Daughter. The record was slated for release in October of 2020. ~ Fred Thomas