Since third grade, rapping has played the scenes in Lord OLO’s life. The Seattle-to-Ohio rapper gives all-due respect to his teacher.
“I rapped in my head until my third grade teacher one day gave me the bright idea. We were doing a test on a book we read I was done first and asked her what should I do until everyone else is finished. She said write a story, write a book, and looked at me with wide eyes and said write a rap! So my third Grade teacher is responsible for the monster at hand.”
As we fast forward to the current time, he’s still at it, yet much better, of course. He presents his new album Goldenfirst — an enlightening album that fills the air with stories. It’s surely not an album you can get through in one listen, due to the amount of content OLO places within his lyrics.
In songs like “Sermon” [produced by Wann Sklobi], you’ll catch the influence of Earl Sweatshirt, Tyler, the Creator, and Kanye West. His production style of choice is drawn somewhere in between Mr. West and DJ Premiere. He brings the essence of hip-hop in his music, while telling his own story of what he’s witnessed. You can also hear the love he has for the music, cadence-drilling his tracks with ambitious tales and motivation.
“I never stopped writing since then. 9th grade year was the first time I started producing inspired by only Kanye West Lex Luger and Tyler the creator a lot my sound was forming itself slowly but surely. By 10th grade I recorded my first tape Novus and then two years later with not as much motivation I released the tape L O R D.”
You can feel the spirits of a higher power background-drawn in the music. OLO does have a background for the church-filled praise, and it’s from his Grandmother.
“I loved rap but I loved my Grandma more and I thought rapping was a sin because I understood the content was fucked up but it was dope.my Grandma was a Christian woman and my biggest role model I just respected how she was always so peaceful but down to earth like she barely laughed but she did.”
Production wise, OLO brings in Phoenix Mostart, Marqui Carey, Gold Zipper, and more. OLO even hops on the production tip, for a few of these tracks.
For an artist like OLO, music is sanity, bringing everything to peace and stopping the evil-filled thoughts of the world. His project is 18-tracks deep, but his conscious isn’t shallow, allowing him to spit rhymes for days. For the most part, the project is a laid-back interpretation of the world OLO lives in. More than anything, he puts nothing above the lord, allowing his music to become his peacefully testimony.
Check out the album here.
