We Got Saüd In The Studio Two Weeks Before High Octane. Here’s Everything.

The title is about oil. Obviously.

“High octane is the highest, purest form of oil that you can get.”

Saüd is from the Eastern Province, so this was never going to be a metaphor about energy drinks. He pulled archival Saudi material into the record and tied the whole project to the ground he grew up on.

“I wanted to first bring it back home, really take our story globally, and tie the whole Eastern Province, oil and gas, into the music.”

Then he rated his own album out loud, on the octane scale. “This album is above 100, so we’re good.”

Three years in. His first record made for himself.

Seventeen years into making music, Saüd finally made one with no target on it.

“I want to make something for me for once. I didn’t want to tap into any specific sound. And this is what came out.”

What came out, in his words, is “pretty much a love letter to hip-hop.” He cut pieces of it in Saudi, pieces in LA, pieces in Atlanta, and refused to rush any of it.

Swizz Beatz heard the beat and called the next day.

Saüd produced “Going Back to Saudi.” Swizz Beatz rapped on it. If you know how hip-hop production usually runs, sit with that order for a second.

“Swizz is known as one of the best producers to ever grace planet Earth. But the fact that he loved one of my beats and called me the next day with the record meant so much to me. One of the biggest cosigns I’ve ever gotten in my life.”

Ninyaz asked the obvious follow-up. Was the track about going global, or about planting a flag at home? Saüd refused to pick.

“It’s a combination of both, always. I don’t think my music falls into any specific geographical location at any point.”

That salaam on every beat? Homesickness.

If you’ve heard a Saüd record, you’ve heard the greeting that opens it. It came out of a night in LA, scrolling old Saudi news broadcasts and missing home.

“It instantly reminded me of the old days when I used to sit with my father and watch Saudi news.”

He chopped it, dropped it on a track, and it never left.

“The feedback I got was insane. People were like, yo, how did you think of that?”

For everyone who grew up in front of those same broadcasts, it does something no logo could. New sound, familiar room.

He put his dad on the album. His dad had no idea.

Ask Saüd for the most personal thing on High Octane and he doesn’t name a single. He names an interlude.

He had wanted his father’s voice on a record for years. His father wasn’t interested in performing for him, so Saüd asked for advice instead, pressed record on his iPhone, and let him talk.

“He told me that life is not easy. It’s a struggle. And it’s so crazy that it fit the whole theme of the album without me telling him anything about it. It fit like a glove.”

That’s “Pop’s Interlude.” And no, his dad did not get an early listen.

“He’s going to hear it on May 7. I’m not playing it.”

He’s not building a one-off.

Don Cannon executive produced. Belly came out to Saudi. Bas came the year before. For Saüd none of that is a flex, it’s the design.

“I’m not trying to build a one-off record. I’m trying to build a proper relationship with these artists. I want to bring artists from the region to work with them. I want to bring producers from the region to work with them. The idea is bigger than me.”

His advice for anyone chasing the same rooms is refreshingly unglamorous. “Nothing comes overnight. You’ve got to sharpen your blade, put in the time. Today you can reach out to anyone in the world. You’ve just got to be a little pushy about it.”

“High octane is now.”

Last question from Ninyaz. Where does this album sit in Saudi music history?

“Now. High octane is now. It’s not last year. I see an incredible sound on the rise, an incredible amount of artists on the rise. It’s literally the time for Saudi music.”

He isn’t wrong, and we hear the proof every week. Emerging Saudi artists, new sounds, a pulse that keeps picking up.

High Octane is out now and in rotation on MDLBEAST Radio. Tune in across the Kingdom on 104.8 Riyadh, 98.1 Jeddah, 97.4 Dammam and 87.6 Abha, or listen live at mdlbeastradio.com.