Here is part 2 of our artist spotlight with 518 rapper, Ohzhe.
[Jadyn H.] How did the Concepts & Colors program come about? Were you contacted by Youth FX? How did that come about?
[Ohzhe] I got contacted by Daysia [lead educator at Youth FX]. I had seen her stuff on Instagram, I hadn’t known she worked at Youth FX. I’ve also came in contact with Bhwain [Co-founder, Co-Executive Director at Youth FX] over the summer. I believe he said that he was going to be reaching out to me about something that he had in mind. I think in September [2023] I got an email from Daysia saying that she wanted me to join a program and I loved it. I had a lot of fun. I wish I had more free time so I could’ve been there more and learn from you guys even more than I already did.
[Jadyn H.] Yeah, I was actually about to ask you. My next question was about your initial reaction to being approached with the whole program and concept.
[Ohzhe] I was like ‘Finally.’ [laughs] I’ve been wanting to work with Youth FX again, so I was grateful for the opportunity.
[Jadyn H.] Since the last time, were you aware of the work that Youth FX did?
[Ohzhe] Yeah, 100%. They helped me with my mini-documentary with the music program I did with Albany Public Library.
[Jadyn H.] Ok, nice. Now, what do music videos mean to you?
[Ohzhe] Music videos … to me means a story. It depends on how they’re telling the story. Like, I saw a Moneybagg Yo music video at work. The song was called ‘Wockesha’. But I loved .. It was like personification for his love for lean. And, throughout the video, whenever he’s out in public all he sees is the girl. But when other people, outsiders, look it’s a cup. I was like ‘That’s a pretty cool concept.’ I like cinematography, I like a good story. If a music video and a song connect good.. I’m here for it. I love music videos once they are executed right.
[Jadyn H.] For sure.
[Ohzhe] Kendrick [Lamar] and PgLang [music and visual media production company founded by Kendrick Lamar alongside Dave Free], they know what execution is.
[Jadyn H.] Yeah for sure.
[Ohzhe] ..When it comes to videography.
[Jadyn H.] Yeah, I just watched the short film by Baby Keem on Prime called ‘The Melodic Blue’. It was good, I really liked it.
[Ohzhe] Fire. Yeah. It was great.
[Jadyn H.] They used animation and different styles, and they didn’t say much about what was going on but you understood. I really enjoyed it. I thought it was really cool.
[Ohzhe] Yeah. I like surrealism. I love surrealism. I like how they played with the aspect of water and the idea of going to a different world. I loved it.
[Jadyn H.] Tell me about the song we did the music video for. ‘SPEAK’. Tell me about that song. The story behind it.
[Ohzhe] Damn. I gotta think back to where I was at when I made it. The beat .. The beat came from my boy Smash. I fell in love with it. It reminded me of Kendrick Lamar’s ‘The Heart Part 5’. And I love that whole series. I created my own series back then called ‘Awkward Thoughts’. So I love stuff like that. And the feeling was reminiscent of the style of stuff that I make. So that’s the direction I took with it. The lyrics were based around me getting to the space of realizing who I was as an artist. And the effect that I have on people, on myself, and how the environment affects me and how I affect the environment. It came from a lot of lyrical ‘I wanna get my bars off but I also wanna say how I’m feeling.’ The beat was already called ‘SPEAK’, so the title never came from anything on me anyways. I just made my song of the same name. I just decided to speak my truth, speak what’s going on, speak how I’m feeling. I have a lot of songs like that if you wanna dive deep into my catalog.
[Jadyn H.] Definitely. I was listening to this other song. ‘Just Another Black Boy’.
[Ohzhe] Ahh yeah. Thank you
[Jadyn H.] I really like this song. Good stuff.
[Ohzhe] Thank you.
[Jadyn H.] What do you hope to do with your music as you move forward?
[Ohzhe] To inspire. To motivate. To show that I’m relatable. It is so important as an artist nowadays and with all the artists coming out.. A lot of them are relatable but a lot of them aren’t who they say they are. So I stick true to who I am and hope to project that out to people who also want to be an artist.
[Jadyn H.] So my next couple questions are about the production of the music video last fall. So, what were you initially looking forward to with the production of the video? What were you excited for? What were you scared for? What were your first impressions?
[Ohzhe] I don’t know. I’m so used to putting myself out there when it comes to doing community work or being a part of something. I was interested to see the take on how it was going to be shot because I wasn’t sure how we were gonna do it. But then when I got to the set when we were shooting it was like it made sense and it felt good, it felt natural, and it was nice to see you guys collaborating and working together and not bickering and hating each other.
[Jadyn H.] [laughs] Yeah. And was there anything that you were a bit more nervous about during filming?
[Ohzhe] Probably my hair. [laughs] And if my lips were ashy. [laughs]
[Jadyn H.] [laughs] Okay. What do you think you’ve taken away from the production? Do you think the video and the whole process of filming it has or will affect your artistry in the future?
[Ohzhe] Yeah, I believe so because it’s the first time I’ve been on a set where the people had a planned set for filming a video. I’m so used to doing this myself, as far as videos, or with the help of someone else who isn’t artistic enough to do the job for real. But it was cool to be on an actual set with actual videographers and photographers. And learn. Like, we had conversations about cinematography, so I love that type of stuff and it was good to be in that kind of environment.
[Jadyn H.] Are you looking forward to anything for the final video?
[Ohzhe] I just wanna see how it came out. [laughs] What we got and what I saw, you know, the raw footage that we shot was excellent and it was very cool. It didn’t feel real at certain points and I had to lock myself back in. However it turns out I know it’s gonna be great. I don’t know, as long as my lips don’t look ashy and my ears don’t look weird I’ll be alright. [laughs] I’m excited.
[Jadyn H.] [laughs] So, my last couple questions are more focused about your legacy. So, my question is: Why should people care about Ohzhe? Why should people tune in to what you’re doing? Why should people tune into the music?
[Ohzhe] Tune in because you want to. Tune in because you’re also on a journey of self-discovery. I feel like that’s where my music comes from. I’m always thinking from an introspective perspective, and I’m always trying to learn something new about myself. I feel like that goes hand-in-hand with the first question you asked about relatability.
[Jadyn H.] Mmm.
[Ohzhe] Everybody’s on a self-reflection journey whether they like it or not. That’s just part of life. And I feel like people should care. You don’t have to care ‘cause I don’t care that people care. But, if you care about where you are in life and if you care about being heard, or hearing things that you can’t say out loud. You know, cause we’re all on the same planet. We’re all going through similar things. Tune in because you are guided to it, something called you to my music. Everybody has a life and different tastes, and my music is just there to play to give you the inspiration you need and to guide you on whatever path you’re on.
[Jadyn H.] Finally, is there anything you want to say to the people?
P[Ohzhe] Believe in yourself. Second guessing is always gonna happen but go with your gut and trust yourself enough to trust your decisions. Be kind. Be gracious. Be fearless. And love yourself, because if you can’t love yourself you can’t love anyone else.
Ohzhe’s artistry and character show he is for the people. He cares about his people and his community, and it beams through his music and his personality. Like he said, tune in because you feel called to it. Let it happen.
Ohzhe’s journey and the music video program hosted by Youth FX has opened me to things I had never known or felt like seeing in my own community. It’s so easy to denounce and look over the things in your community due to location and circumstances. But if you have the courage to, I suggest you take a deeper look around your community and see the beauty of things you may have never seen. There’ll be some good things there.
Ohzhe has a catalog of moving lyricism and grounded, down to Earth beat selection that I believe anyone can indulge in. I highly recommend the song ‘SPEAK’ and ‘Essentia’.
The music video premiered at Youth FX’s world premiere screening last week Thursday the 6th. If you missed the screening(s), follow @youthfxfilm and @ohzhe to stay in touch and find out the latest about distribution of the films created over the past year.
Ohzhe – “Speak” | The Influence Performance
Ohzhe x Essentia Prod. Sav Allen (Offical Video)
The Conscious Hip-Hop Journey of Ohzhe