NEXT 100
"I felt like something big was going to happen, especially after Jurassic [5] and Dilated [Peoples] got signed," says longtime LA producer Omid. "But then it died out for some reason. Maybe it wasn't our time yet, since the ones who stuck around are better now than we were then."
Then was 1998, the year Omid released Beneath the Surface, a seminal compilation of more than 25 virtually unknown MCs [Aceyalone, AWOL One, 2Mex]. Now is the 10-year anniversary of 'Project Blowed', the low-fi precursor to 'Surface' and the like-minded collections like Rawkus' 'Lyricist Lounge'. To bring things full circle on an upcoming 'Blowed' sequel, Omid contributed "The People," a minimalist woofer-wrecker featuring Pigeon John, recurring collaborator Sach and Ellay Khule. To bring things forward, he just finished his half of a Khule album [Nobody did the other]. Next up: the evolution to "more banging" beats continues, as Omid drops the downtrodden flourishes of his last solo record [Monolith, Mush] for an entirely new approach.
"I don't want to say it's danceable, but DJs could still rock it," he says. "I kind of want to get out of that mellow, dark style. When you spend years and years keeping up with these eclectic peers, it's hard to tone it down."
AP