Esai Saenz: Eco Rapper and Filmmaker
The Earth is suffering. Forests are burning, glaciers are melting, sea levels continue to rise and it’s become clear that if a change isn’t made the damage may be irreversible.
However, a Kansas City-based environmental activist, musical artist and filmmaker known as Esai hopes to spread awareness through his work on the current state of the Earth’s environment.
Esai explains that in 2016 he began looking more closely into the state of the environment. He has always had a love for nature and animals but it wasn’t until he looked into the effects of human waste that he decided to make a change.
“I really tapped into like climate change and how the earth is being devastated, how humans are growing and disposing of their food, how the ocean is being completely polluted with plastic, and the wildfires are getting worse, the earth is getting hotter ice caps are melting all these things I kind of knew about but when I really sat down I got in that deep rabbit hole of the earth is on fire and this is not okay and like no one’s really addressing it,” Esai said. “that’s when I was like I really want to show people and help educate and also reduce my own carbon footprint.
Esai hopes that by reducing his footprint and encouraging others to do the same it will leave the planet in better shape for future generations. Esai went vegan in 2017 and began working to brand himself and his projects as environmentally friendly.
Recently, Esai traveled to Honduras to work as a videographer for a non-profit charity aiming to tell the stories of the locals. Esai has traveled through South America in the past seeking to tell similar stories with the charities.
“We did a lot of nonprofit work and were down with the people every day in the villages and that was inspiring to me, I was like this is kind of the work that I want to do,” Esai said. “So that’s kind of why I really started focusing, and I want to do more like environmental and sustainable work.”
Esai formed a production company called Pangea Dreams with his friend Claude. The company primarily focuses on video production and aims to create sets that have a minimal carbon footprint.
“Every set I’ve been on there’s so much trash and there’s a lot that’s not recycled,” Esai said. “we want to educate other filmmakers and other productions like ‘hey this is how you should manage your productions because for one it’s cheaper for two it’s better for the planet.’ you know.”
Esai hopes that the company can become one of the biggest environmental production companies as well as the greenest. They aim to collaborate with other companies that are also environmentally friendly and trying to make a positive impact on society.
During their productions, they stay environmentally conscious by using reusable water bottles and utilizing environmentally friendly catering for the sets.
“We really try to focus on making sure our carbon footprint is minimalized, and then educating everybody else, especially in the film industry because being on big sets you see that they waste so much food and plastic, and it’s not an eco-friendly industry right now and no one really thinks about it.”
Esai explains that although it could be cheaper to explore environmentally friendly options, larger corporations will often look for something that is easier and quicker. While working as a production assistant for the design team of the Netflix show Queer Eye, he witnessed first hand the amount of waste that is accrued on a large scale set.
“I worked in the art department, so we get semi-trucks full of furniture and flooring and stuff in boxes and plastic-wrapped,” Esai said. “we’d literally fill up the bin in 30 minutes.
Esai began collecting the recyclable materials and shoving them into his car at the end of the day and bringing them to a local recycling center.
“I was like, I can’t throw this all away by myself. I just don’t have the heart to do it,” Esai said. “After I started doing that, then the rest of my team started doing that as well. They were way more conscious about it. It really just takes one person to do it, and then there’s a bug in people’s ear, they’re gonna second-guess throwing things in the trash when they could recycle.”
On top of his growing career in the film industry, Esai is also a music producer and artist. The music he typically creates is a mix of alternative hip hop and R&B.
Within his music, he stresses awareness about climate change, the environment, how humans are treating the earth and how they treat each other. He also hopes to spread the message that people should believe in themselves and their dreams.
“I just want to show people that they’re capable of doing things that people might not give them the credit for,” Esai said.
Over the course of 2019, Esai’s Spotify streams doubled in plays. His music was added to a curated Spotify playlist allowing thousands of new listeners to discover his message.
“My most played city for my music is in Phoenix, Arizona, and I only know one person in Phoenix, Arizona,” Esai said. “So there are thousands of people who don’t even know me, who never met me before and they’re streaming my music, and they’re watching my content and it’s incredible.”
In November of 2019, Esai and a group of Kansas City artists got together to do a show dedicated to helping the Amazon rainforest. The show aimed to raise awareness of the forest fires and the group donated all money gained to different charities providing relief efforts.
“It was cool, we had turf all over the stage, and it lit it to be almost like Avatar and we had a projector playing some cool visuals and it was a really good time.”
Esai has a large goal for 2020 of releasing 50 songs over the course of the year and share his message with the public.
“I have so much music that I have on my computer and I’m finally releasing it,” Esai said. “one of my main goals is to go on tour, either go on my own or open up for someone and tour with them, even if it’s only for a couple of weeks.”
Esai hopes that through his filmmaking and music he can spread a positive message of change. He urges that people reduce their waste and invest in a reusable water bottle and stop using plastic water bottles. He hopes that his followers will spread the word about using less plastic or eating less meat and sharing on social media what’s going on in the Earth right now.
“We don’t have a lot of time to make a difference right now,” Esai said. “Five, six years from now, it’s gonna be too late and we’re gonna have to live with its consequences, we’re privileged right now to live in a point in time where we can actually change the course of human history, potentially, which is crazy. So it’s a big responsibility, but we can make a habit, so please reduce your ways. Drink more water. Believe in yourself and let’s save the planet.”
Esai has plans to continue releasing content on his social media over the course of the year. His newest song Rosary was released on March 27th.
Fans can look forward to seeing new music, films and some secret projects yet to be revealed.
