Interview With Artist & Producer Oh No

via Hip Hop DX interviewed by William E. Ketchum III

HipHopDX: On your first album, The Disrupt, you both rapped and produced. As of late, I’ve seen you focus on producing. Why the switch-up?

Oh No: I actually still do both really heavy. I just prefer to do beats, because it helps you branch out with other musicians. When I’m rapping, it’s moreso therapy for myself. When I’m doing beats, I’m linking up with everybody. I’m just making different vibes. When it’s Oh No rapping, you’re getting mad, pure raw shit. I’m normally an angry person, so I usually don’t even like that shit to come out. I want to give the good vibes and give some good motion with the beats. But I do both. As I’m doing these beats, I’m doing an album with Alchemist, and I’m rapping a lot on that. I’ve got an album with Chino XL and Roc 'C'.

DX: Like you said, a Stones Throw template was the Champion Sound idea. What do you take from that? Did you look at that as an influence while working with Alchemist?

Oh No: I think the J Dilla/Madlib project made people want to collaborate more. Before, it used to be, “I’m working with my crew, and this is my crew only. If we do a song, it’s only going to be one song with someone who’s just as big as me.” That’s how people worked. But nowadays, it’s all about collaborations and making moves together. That’s what it’s all about. When the Jaylib album came out, they were basically just rapping over each others’ beats. Madlib had already made an album over those beats, and Dilla was working on his stuff. As soon as he got the Madlib [beats], he started knocking that stuff out. Whereas me and Alchemist [worked differently]…it was just a chemistry, like, “Let’s do some joints together.” As opposed to just rapping over each others’ beats. Jaylib, that shit was just raw. They weren’t worried about no sales, or no marketing. It was just, “This is the music that we made. Support that shit.” That’s it; that’s our whole feel. We aren’t worried about nothing. This is us, 100% raw uncut. Oh No and Alchemist. Everybody knows he has sick beats, and if they don’t know, they will know that he has the illest rhymes too. He’s O.G., he’s back in the day. He’s coming back right.

Read the rest of the interview here:
Hip Hop DX - Producer's Corner: Oh No