Oxygen - "Idealism" [1990 Demo Version]

Lost Tapes favorite Oxygen just dropped this gem over @ his Soundcloud page. Dating back to 1990 and his early alias Jonzhaft The Psychopath, "Idealism" is a song that later would later be reworked and released as a B-side to a 12" single two years later. Funky ish and sick to hear Ox was killing it way back then!

[Exclusive Interview] OXYGEN Pt. 2

Last week I posted Part 1 of my interview with Oxygen from Soundsci and SPOX PhD. If you got the first reading down, follow us now as The Lost Tapes picks up the conversation with Ox right from where we left off last time. Enjoy y'all!

claaa7: The 7" single you released with SPOX-PhD was one of last year's finest singles. The way you held your own on a posse cut with Kurious, Sadat X and Diamond D was real proof of you being an emcee's emcee, so to speak. How did that collaboration go down and was what the session like? 

Oxygen: Much respect. After a few faculty adjustments, we finally found the right balance of artists to feature on it. Spinna basically asked me who were some of the emcees I wanted to work with because he had an idea to do a posse track once we completed "Brilliance". So I started firing off names. In the end, he locked down Diamond D and Sadat X, and I reached out to Kurious through my man, Dave Dar. There was no actual session together, as many collaborations are done these days with all this technology. But I wish there WAS! I still listen to that track on a regular and just geek out. I don't think people realize how nice Kurious is as a writer. He was actually one of my 1st personal choices, and he came through like a guerrilla on that song. I'm happy with all the verses and how Spinna arranged everything. It's all like a dream come true for me. If I don't get to do another song in my life, I'm so pleased to have done that one.

c7: Continuing on the topic of SPOX-PhD, have you two been working on more material together since that debut single?

Ox: Yes, Spinna and I are just about done with our entire album.
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c7: Wow! That's fantastic news; I can't wait to hear more from you two together.

Ox: Our follow-up single should be dropping within the next couple of months actually. Maybe sooner.
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c7: You are also known for your involvement with the group Sputnik Brown, and the album and EP y'all released as limited digital downloads was truly loved amongst us true underground fans. What are the chances of a limited vinyl release or something like that for either, or both, of those? 

Ox: Well we did release some of the songs with DWG (Diggers With Gratitude) on vinyl earlier this year called "That Brown Underground" EP. It would be nice to see an official release for the remaining material as they were, however I doubt very highly that it will happen.

c7: It's quite obvious that you put your crews first and foremost, but what are the chances that we'll eventually get to hear a full-blown solo album by Ox The Architect? And if so, what producers and guests would you like to work with for the project?

Ox: Well the SPOX PhD album is kind of a solo album, although I do have a couple of features from my Sputnik Brown family and my brother Wyld Bunch. I'll consider it my solo debut LP once it drops. I've been speaking with DJ Format (UK), Paul Nice and also Sam Sever for a while about some future endeavors with each of them. However, creatively, I've been trying to reload myself so I'm able to get in the proper zone to jump into those project. I've been impressed with the sound of quite a few heads lately. Confidence (of Rashad & Confidence) is incredible on the beats. Rashad is nice too. Wouldn't mind working with them on something. I like the style of that cat Jorun Bombay from Canada. And definitely J-Zone if I had to get beats from anyone. That's my dude, and his production is insane! My bucket list of emcees for features I would be here forever listing them. Seriously.

c7: From the official projects you have released so far, which is the one you feel most proud about and why?

Ox: Definitely the "Gone Diggin'" 45. First of all, the whole process of that song coming together was the first time I've experienced real-life magic! That whole entire song was written on location as Gensu Dean and I were diggin' in spots around NYC. Second, it was the first and only record that I've done so far where I was able to take part in every process of having it pressed, released, and sold. I have to give thanks to everybody that was involved in making that release what it is today. I'm very fortunate. I've had one person say to me it's the "Digger's National Anthem". Two years after its release, it still seems to be gaining momentum. The B-side track "Mastermind's In Effect" was from the first demo tape I had ever done with my man Cutwizard Albee. That 45 is the perfect balance of history and future for me.

c7: Considering that you hang around a lot of different talented producers, have you yourself dabbled anything in creating beats? I know you received a couple of co-production credits on, for example, DJ Spinna's "Sonic Smash" LP.

Ox: I used to mess with the machines way back when things were simpler. I remember my man Albee had the Korg DDD-1. After that, he showed me how to freak the Akai S01 and the Akai S1000. That was about the last thing I worked with. I produced a track in the mid '90s for my man Son Of Know-1 called "Bring It On Down" that I'm proud of. It was never released though. My thing was basically collecting the wax. I hear different beat ideas in my head all the time listening to stuff I score, but I've always just brought the vinyl or ideas to the experts and let them punch the buttons. That was the case with "Elemental" on the Sonic Smash album. A lot of the Sputnik Brown songs, the same thing.

c7: What are your main inspirations as a writer and a lyricist?

 Ox: Usually, just myself. I try not to listen to any other emcees while creating, with the exception of whoever I may be doing a track with. Then I'd have to say they inspire me as well. I try to keep an original flow on everything. The beat I'm given has a lot to do with it too. Most of the time, I won't write anything for a good while after I get a beat. I just let it loop over and over and over... and over, then after a while I start hearing myself inside of it.

c7: What music do you listen to when you find the time to just listen? Based on your music, I would imagine you're into a lot of different styles and genres?

Ox: Those Clear Soul Forces out of Detroit and Ab-Soul from Cali really have my attention right now. I love their energy. I listen to all types of music though. I like 80's synth pop and new wave, psych & prog rock, gospel, jazz, blues, sometimes classical or country, funk soul. All of it. I'm a big fan of Chicago and Billy Joel for the song writing and arrangements. Nina Simone gets heavy rotation. In my house, I grew up on gospel music. Not that "old time religion" stuff. I mean that funky stuff, like Bill Moss & The Celestials, Inez Andrews, Myrna Summers, Mighty Clouds Of Joy, and Gabriel Hardeman Delegation.

c7: How do you view the hip-hop scene in 2012?

Ox: It's cool. I'm finding my place in it, so no complaints here.

c7: I know you're still building your brand as a musician, but are you and your various crews currently doing any major shows? Do you think there's any chances for a European tour in the near future?

Ox: Nothing concrete lined up yet, but in the meantime I'll just keep dropping releases until the interest is there. I would love to hit the road with Soundsci in the near future. I think that wouldbe ridiculously fun!

c7: We touched a bit on it already during this interview, but I still want to ask you what's next in line for Oxygen as far as musical endeavors goes. We are a lot that are eagerly anticipating new music from you, that's for sure!

Ox: Thanks brother. Man, to be honest I would love to finally learn how to play this trumpet I bought. haha I scored a used trumpet from a local second hand shop, and I try to slip some practice in whenever I can. It's tough though. I think I'm going to have to trade up for a sax. As far as releases go, there's plenty on deck. I don't want to start name dropping since I don't know actual release dates for many, but I've been busy. Trust me!

c7: I wish you all the best of luck with all those future projects, and once again many thanks for the patience to do this interview!

Ox: Thank YOU for all that you're doing, and for allowing me the platform to do this interview. This life's journey of mine has been an amazing one so far. I'm looking forward to the future as well. Much respect to everyone who took time out to read this too. You are appreciated. Peace.

Those words concludes this interview which I sincerely hope all you readers have found as interesting as I myself did. If you still haven't grabbed Ox's latest release, the highly recommended "Formula 99" LP with Soundsci, make sure to check it out and show your support @ Soundsci's Bandcamp page. Much respect to Ox for the thorough answers and just being an extremely humble and talented artist. I also want to give a shout out to my man Jaz for the initial hook up with Oxygen, which by extension made this interview possible.

[Exclusive Interview] OXYGEN Pt. 1

New York based emcee Oxygen, sometimes Ox The Architect, is one of those emcees who's been paying his dues for years, dropping true quality music on a fairly regular basis. Releasing his first solo 12" back in 1990, as Jonzhaft The Psychopath, and as part of the early '90s jazz/hip-hop fusion scene with the group Jazz Not Jazz, Oxygen is one of the underground scene's best kept secrets. Fellow artists like DJ Spinna, Diamond D, Lord Finesse, Sadat X, and Kurious already recognizes the name and know the skills behind it, yet many listeners have yet to discover the true school hip-hop that Ox The Architect embodies. But things are starting to look up as more and more heads all over the world are starting to embrace his work with former crew Sputnik Brown, his duo Spox-PhD with DJ Spinna, and his latest work with super group Soundsci. The latter just dropped one of 2012's best releases in the form of "Formula 99", so if you haven't heard that yet make sure to grab it/check it out ASAP. If you know the music, it's now time to learn to know the man as Ox has graced The Lost Tapes with a very informative interview; and if you have yet to learn about the music, hopefuly this interview will help you wake up and smell the coffee!

claaa7: First of all many thanks for taking the time out of your schedule to do this interview for The Lost Tapes. It is extremely appreciated!

Oxygen: Thank you. It's an honor and pleasure to be granted this interview.

c7: For those not yet too familiar with your music and many projects, could you give us a quick breakdown of which crews you currently rep and what aliases you go by?

Ox: Sure, I go by the name Oxygen most of the time. Sometimes I use 'Ox The Architect' or my first ever emcee name 'Just Divine'. I'm part of the groups Sputnik Brown, Soundsci and SPOX PhD with DJ Spinna. In my PAST rhyme-life I recorded under the name 'Jonzhaft The Psycopath' and 'Jon Shaft' as part of the group Jazz Not Jazz, both in the early 1990s.

c7: Many emcees would be perfectly happy just repping one crew haha; you instead have gone full throttle to get your name out there, and it definitely seems to be working!

Ox: Thanks man. I have to give praise to my parents for instilling this work ethic in me. I learned early by watching them. For me, it's all about quality over quantity. I don't accept every project that is presented to me, but if I choose to work on anything I make sure I give it my absolute best and work hard at it.

c7: Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're an emcee originally from Long Island, right? How did that surrounding inspire you in first grabbing a microphone, and how old were you when you first started rhyming?

Ox: That's correct. My area and a few of the immediate towns surrounding have bred some of the finest emcees, singers, and musicians in the industry. Some of the most notable are Rakim, Supreme Force (Freddie Foxxx 1st group), De La Soul, Too Poetic, Groove B. Chill, Bolaji, J.V.C. F.O.R.C.E., EPMD, Craig Mack, Keith Murray, LL Cool J (who is originally from my hometown of North Babylon), Tone Kapone from Def Squad, Resident Alien... The list goes on and on. There were also some ill DJ crews as well. This whole melting pot of style constantly flowing through the air by the mid-80's was crazy. But way before then, back in the early '80s, my first inspirations were the combination of a local DJ crew called Fantasy, Inc. & one of my older sisters best friends named Greg Rawls (RIP). Fantasy, Inc. used to set up their sound system on the next block over from me, and a few random emcees would hop on the mic and get loose. Then I would notice many of the emcees also spun records as well. So for me, becoming a DJ and emcee kind of happened at the same time based on seeing this. I would say I was around 11 or 12 when I caught the bug. It was Rawls who fine tuned them both for me. He was the first older guy that "allowed" me to touch his turntables. With Fantasy, Inc. that was out of the question unless you were crew. Greg would also hop into the corner ciphers when my friends and I would be out there practicing our little rhymes. I miss him a lot.

c7: You're part of at least three crews that specializes in a certain brand of hip-hop; one that I would like to call modern true school hip-hop. Do you think that's a fitting description of the music you strive to make?

Ox: Well, I'm not sure that I would label it anything. What I strive to make is simply SOUL music. My writing stems from the connection a beat has with my spirit. So at the end of the process, it's all deemed as soul music to me. With all the groups I've worked with, there was always strong emphasis on the writing. Many songs that come out these days you can instantly feel the disconnect artists have with their music, which leads to the consumer having no connection with it either. I just want my songs to stand the test of time. Something you can go back to, and have some kind of memory about the first time you heard them.

c7: I really like your take on that! Your latest endeavor is as part of the group Soundsci, which is a quintet if I'm not mistaken? Y'all just released our incredible debut album "Formula 99" to much critical acclaim. Did the release meet the expectations you were hoping for? 

Ox: Yes, Soundsci is (now) a five man crew. As far as the album, it definitely met my expectations both sonically and the way people are responding to it. We don't have any major distribution set up for it, which we're in the process of trying to change that. Still in all, the buzz has been growing and we're quite pleased.

c7: What is the meaning behind the album title, "Formula 99"?

Ox: "Formula 99" basically describes the combination of the sound we've created as a unit with us all being elements of different groups. 1999, you can say, was also the year in which the broader sound of rap music started to cross over dramatically. What we wanted to do was not so much stay stuck in the '90s, but bring that whole vibe into the future with us as we build our catalog. Most of the album was complete before I added on with the group. When I heard the tracks that had already been laid down for the album, plus the impressive "Dig For Victory" EP, I knew I needed to be a part of it in some way.

c7: Ah ok, that explains why you had so few verses on the LP compared to Audessey and U-George, which is something I was curious about. How did you officially hook up with these guys and become a full-time member?

Ox: Right, the group was already in motion by the time I added on late last year (2011). I had actually been friends with both Ollie Teeba and Jonny Cuba for a few years now. Actually the beat for the song "Formula 99" Jonny had submitted to my former group Sputnik Brown a couple of years back to rock on. We never got the chance to use it, an he was saying he could use it for this upcoming project he was working on. I did fall in love with that beat the first time I heard it, and I was a little heart broken when he snatched it back, haha. I finally met Jonny in person during my trip to London in 2010 out at Plan B in Brixton. I think it was then I basically BEGGED him to let me drop a verse on the beat once he knew what he was doing with it, and it all panned out in the end. Teeba I met initially through building on Myspace. I had linked up with him on a couple of occasions here in NYC while he was out for some DJ gigs. From there, he reached out to me and Sputnik Brown to open up a show for Herbaliser at Knitting Factory back in 2008, and we stayed in contact ever since. Tone (Audessey) and U-George I met just a year or so ago, however it seems I've known them forever. I've always been a fan of the music Aud dropped with Mass Influence & Geo with The Hemisphere. I love working with all these gentlemen.

c7: To me, all your verses on the album ("In a Flash", "Formula 99", "Ill Dialect") are true standouts; Is it safe to assume that you will be featured a lot more on forthcoming Soundsci projects?

Ox: Thanks. All the songs I have verses on that you mentioned had Audessey's verses on them already and were mostly produced, so really I just fed off the energy that was built into the tracks before I got there. We have been in the lab laboring hard on the follow-up joints, and yes it's safe to say I'll be featured on plenty more of what the world is about to be blessed with from Soundsci. 

c7: When can fans expect to hear some of this follow-up material you've been working on?

Ox: Sometime around early this fall, we have the next EP on the way from the group. Geo is presently working on his solo LP, and we've teamed up for some heat on that. Tone and I have also linked up for a couple of outside projects as well, so be on the lookout for those. Everything will be released on vinyl for all you diehards out there. We're working man.

c7: That's fantastic news, and also much props for being part of keeping vinyl alive. While we're still on the topic of "Formula 99", I have to ask you what's your personal favorite record on the LP, and why?

Ox: Wow, that's a tough one. I LOVE that remix of "Remedy". The way Tone's verses, cadence, and voice is weaving through that beat feels so incredibly right! Then the scratches to cap it off... Just beautifully done. "Da Livin'" is real fly too. Geo got busy on that one. Of course you said ONE, but that entire album is just cleverly balanced out and each track has it's own uniqueness about it. 

c7: No doubt man. As you mentioned that "Remedy" remix though, I really wish that would've made the vinyl set. "Give Thanks" is one of my own favorites, but the former was just such a dope closer too, although it of course had been released in original form on "Dig For Victory".

Ox: I THINK that remix was just an exclusive bonus for the digital sales. Not too sure. I didn't have anything to do with the track selection process.  

c7: You was also a member of the crew Sputnik Brown and works with DJ Spinna as SPOX PhD. All these groups have released some absolutely terrific material, but is it possible for you to say which one of these crews you enjoy working with the most?

Ox: Honestly, no. Each one hold a special place in my heart. Sputnik Brown I was with from the birth of it until we decided to let it go. I appreciate everything about that group from the creative process to the shows to every high point and every low point. Those are my brothers for life. We did a lot of hanging out together outside of being creative, so it made it that much easier when it came time to work. With SPOX PhD, Spinna and I very rarely create together in the same space. His schedule is bananas, so I hardly get to see him. But I'm a fan of this music first, so just being able to create ANYTHING with him is a personal blessing. With Soundsci, I'm still growing with. I've only been officially down for just a few months and the fact that we all basically live in different regions of the earth doesn't slow down our process one bit. We just have this natural understanding of our direction without even having to discuss anything. What's bugged is I haven't even met Tone and Geo in person yet. Crazy right?

c7: Haha, yeah that is weird, yet, as you say, the chemistry is there to be heard on the records.

...PART 2 OF THE INTERVIEW

[Review] SPOX PhD - "Brilliance" 7"

For someone like myself who mostly choose to listen to my music in album format, the few times I come across a single that I can't stop repeating I know I got something special on my hands. This is the case with the debut single by the duo called SPOX PhD whose appropriately titled "Brilliance" is also the first release on the newly formed Correct Technique Records. SPOX PhD is a duo consisting of severely underrated veteran producer DJ Spinna along with emcee Ox The Architect (p/k/a Oxygen) whose made a splash on the underground scene the last few years through his work in the groups Sputnik Brown and Soundsci. The musical connection between Spinna and Ox can be traced back to an apperance by the latter on the producer's 2009 album "Sonic Smash", on a promising banger titled "Elemental" which could be viewed as the first SPOX PhD record as it laid the foundation for their working relationship.

SPOX PhD - "Brilliance"

True school heads will rejoice over the A-side's jazzy melodic groove and the ill execution of balance between the laid back (the melodies) and the hard (the knocking drums and fat bass line). Oxygen's smooth delivery is perfect for the trademark production of Spinna as the rhyme slinger displays tight breath control while boosting well played lyrics like "Your neck wanna snap? Then let it, I copped these poetics from my dad through the laws of genetics / Set it! The blood type's O, the XY coordinates, I supply the illmatic for the insubordinate". Brilliant was the word, right? I can't imagine a better introduction to this newly formed group than this lead track. "Brilliance" is ultimately an impressive display of beats and rhymes provided by two gentlemen well skilled in the trade of that ol' boom bap.

On the flip side we find an all around hardcore sound on the posse cut "Four Times Raw". The production is less charismatic than on the A-side but the marching warrior drums, progressive bass line and underlaying guitar samples still makes for a winner in my book. There's a good chance it will have you pumping your first in the air and neck snapping forth and back. It's far from a shame to gather three legends named Sadat X, Diamond D and Kurious for a limited 7" release but listening to the results I'm thrilled they did just that! One of the things that make this one stand out as a superior posse cut is how each of the four emcees owns a very distinctive voice. Even if you're just barely familiar with them you'll probably be able to separate them. Ox once again proves that he's one of the brightest rappers that's still relatively fresh on the scene as he has no problem hanging with these veterans and closes the rhyme session with a boom. "Heard this beat knocking so I answered/ Called up a few vets to help me enhance it" sums it up pretty well. 

SPOX PhD - "Four Times Raw" (Ft. Sadat X, Diamond & Kurious)
 

As strong as the chemistry between DJ Spinna and Ox The Architect clearly already is, one can only imagine how dope future projects will be once they get even more comfortable around eachother's respective styles. One thing is clear, the future promises bright things for the duo who has choosed to call themeselves SPOX PhD. In other words, if the two cuts heard here are any indication of what their forthcoming full-lenght album will sound like, chances are they will deliver the best LP of the year. In fact if there is anything bad I have to say about this single is that it leaves a large appetite for more; yes, I know I'm a harsh critic but that's the reality! Please support real hip-hop and cop "Brilliance" @ UGHH.