Old Man Saxon

Old Man Saxon, a 27-year-old rapper and Los Angeles transplant, was homeless throughout 2014. He lived in his 2001 Ford Explorer, showered at gyms and ate McDonald's Happy Meals twice a day while following his musical aspirations, hiding the reality from friends and family.

Apparently, it was unsettlingly easy.

"It was scary how easy it was to hide it – it was lonely," Saxon said in an email conversation. "And sometimes that same loneliness creeps up when I realize how easy I can turn on and off my performance, my smile, my act."

Two years later, he's opening up. Monday, Saxon released his latest video for "The Perils," attempting to capture the disillusionment, the uncertainty and dizzying monotony of the life he once led. It offers a grim but honest portrait, with the aim to quash some of the misunderstanding and stigma that surrounds the reality of homelessness in America.

Directed by Anthony Yano Hays, the video takes viewers through a day in the life, as Saxon does laundry, washes dishes and dreams of flossing like the rappers he looks up to.

"I always liked hearing rappers speak about their homeless life in two or three words, but I always wanted to hear more about that," Saxon wrote. "Poverty is always spoken in past tense. But on 'The Perils,' that reality for me is where the real story is. I want to move people, not impress people."

"The Perils" serves as the title track off a 4-song EP, released earlier this year. They were chosen out of a full 30 tracks Saxon wrote while homeless.

"People need to know about this life," Saxon wrote. "There is an image of a homeless person that the general public has in their head. I want to show that there are college graduates that are homeless. Intelligent, hardworking individuals that are trying their hardest to get out of a shitty situation. I know there are others like me. I saw so many people living in their cars. Young people. So I know there is a voice out there that isn't being heard. I made a conscious decision to create art of my situation in order to ease my mind. I believe the more personal the story, the more universal it is.Rapper Old Man Saxon Cuts Moving Video "The Perils" to Raise Awareness About Homelessness" - Mic.com

Los Angeles-based rapper Old Man Saxon, the Denver-raised Saxon Cole Kincy, recently released an EP entitled “The Perils,” a four-song effort that was culled from dozens of songs he wrote in 2014 while homeless. His flow sounds like a cross between Earl Sweatshirt and Fatlip, charged with a biting and self-aware sincerity in calling it as he sees it with dense wordplay and a nonchalant delivery. Opening track “Breakfast” rides a Chipmunk’d soul sample over a drum beat, with Saxon kicking lines like, “I’m a hit you with that sad shit / Not my prerogative but that’s how life bottled it / I’m trying to hang with a baller b*tch / I wished I had a smaller dick / But that’s no reason just to call it quits,” but it’s the title track that’s the standout.

The video below, directed by Anthony Yano Hays, lensed by Jason Adler and produced by Brittany Ballard, depicts Saxon’s experience living in his Ford Explorer with vivid visuals, supplementing its dynamite lyrical storytelling as he drops bombs like, “Choked up while I’m writing this / Didn’t think my life would get / So fucking triflin’ / Living like Mice & Men,” and, “Constipation and constant hatin’ / Got me looking up at the constellations / Instead of corroborating / Fallacies about where I’m staying / You know, somewhere in Silverlake… / But really in the back / On the passenger’s side.” Purchase “The Perils” EP here. - buzzbands.la

It's a message we can all benefit from hearing. After living out of his car for 13 months, one artist is using that experience as inspiration for his music. Rapper Old Man Saxon joined the RightThisMinute hosts via Skype for an interview on his eye-opening music video. Old Man Saxon's goal is to raise awareness about homelessness and show a side of it you may not see often. In The Perils music video, directed by Anthony Yano Hays, you can see the struggles that come with not having a stable place to call home. - Right This Minute

While the Juxtapoz crew was attending author of The Haunted Painting article, Gregg Gibb's 100th birthday party, we were surprised to be entertained by Old Man Saxon, who is talented, entertaining and is headed to a venue near you! - Juxtapoz Magazine