O.C.
by Faisal Ahmed
This interview conducted in 1994.
Every so often single drops on the unsuspecting hip hop public that has such far-reaching effects that you never forget exactly where you first heard it. Last time it was Nas and "Half Time," and for the nine-quad O.C. drops a funked up firebomb entitled "Time's Up." Instead of skirting issues or verbalizing on the abstract tip, he just goes straight for the jugular vein and plucks the cards of all those who front on hip hop and it's true foundation. In this bullshit dominated business, so many skilled mic technicians get stepped on, but all b-boys will be thankful that O.C.'s out and on wax.
So talk about your background and when you first got into it.
O.C.: Originally I'm from Bushwick (Brooklyn), and I started making music in the parks with the b-boys around the way. In fact, I was a DJ at that point and not an MC. I was kinda scared about gettin' on the mic then 'cause I didn't think people would wanna hear that, but I eventually fell into it just through my love for the music. I started really to develop as a rhymer once I moved to Queens.
And who were your lyrical influences?
Let me run off five names who I would acknowledge as my major influences: 1) KRS, 2) Slick Rick, 3) Rakim, 4) Kool G. Rap, 5) Chuck D. KRS really influenced me as a MC and his music taught me that I should be original. Is everyone is doing one thing, I should do the exact opposite. Not follow trends but do what I feel to be true. Those names I mentioned are what I consider to be true MCs, and I go according to what my definition of MC means. I've analyzed what is out today, and it seems every rapper who comes out is labeled as an MC when in fact MC is a term...
...Reserved for those who truly represent hip hop.
Right! The industry these days is all money and politics when any fool can come out without even having a correct understanding of what they're claiming. And for me—an MC like Slick Rick—word, Slick Rick is like an icon to me.
Who's Buckwild and where did he come from?
Buckwild is hip hop's next superman producer, eve though he don't want to be. I was on tour with Organized about two years ago, and he was on tour with Lord Finesse. We just hooked it up right there. Lord Finesse and Buck did a whole demo for me at Chung King studios for free, just outta love and friendship.
How are you gonna react when you start hittin' in a big way?
To be honest, I don't even want that hype. My shit is purely for the b-boys, and I'm all about just staying true. I couldn't even care about shipping gold or whatever. So many people come out frontin' when they get a deal, and I'm sorry to say that shit happens a lot these days. Me, I'm just comin' true.
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