The Very Good Agency

YaHeard? Ohmega Watts

YaHeard?

Welcome to another entry from the YaHeard? handbook, where we look at albums that you should’ve heard. As an underground hip hop fan whose interest was matured by the likes of Jurassic 5, People Under The Stairs, Eric B and Rakim and DJ Premier, its always refreshing to come across new music that pays homage to the Old School era. Ohmega Watts does exactly that, and he does it well. His debut album, ‘The Find’ (released in 2005), is a well crafted blend of organic and energetic hip hop, funk, jazz, soul and reggae, resulting in a sound that sits comfortably with the likes of A Tribe Called Quest, Gangstarr and Pete Rock. Known as a triple threat, Watts is a skilled Emcee, DJ and Producer; something you’ll be well aware of after listening to this album. From start to finish it takes you on a journey to the golden age with laid-back hip-hop stylings to party rockin bangers; this is an album you need in your collection.

Appropriately, the album kicks off with “Where it all started”, a ride in time through Ohmega Watts hip hop development, touching on all his influences along the way. It then launches into the funked up vibe of “That Sound”, which features Lightheaded (the crew that Watts cut his teeth with), The Procussions and the silky smooth Noelle from The Rebirth on the hook. This is easily one of the best tracks and the bouncy party beat will have your heading nodding for sure. The build up and drop into Braille‘s verse is true party-styles, and the breakdown towards the end of the track illustrates Watts‘ impressive abilities on the cut.

Although guests appear on over half of the tracks, you’ll probably find that its predominantly artists you’ve never head of, such as Neogen & Deacon on “Full Swing”, Braille on “The Treatment”, and the talented Tiffany Simpson on “Your Love”. Don’t let this discourage you, Watts has arranged the perfect supporting cast for his masterpiece. The artists all add sublimely to their respective songs; Tiffany Simpson’s husky voice is amazing on her funk-infused RnB track, Sugar Candy (don’t let the name fool you now) takes it back to Ohmega Watts’ Jamaican roots with the dubby reggae-inspired rhythm of “Treasure Hunt”, and Stro The 89th Key trades verses with Watts with style on the title track, “The Find”.

Ohmega Watts – The Making of Platypus Strut

The track that set off Watts‘ success was “A Request”, a beautifully complex beat that perfectly demonstrates Watts’ talent on the production side of things. His laid-back rolling flow rocks the beat, which is so good you won’t even notice that he only actually raps on the first half of it. Watts‘ keeps the tempo up with the urgent, loud and hard hitting “The Treatment”, where he’s joined by Manchild, Braille and Big Rec for some more slammin’ beats and rhymes. His production skills are again highlighted in what is one of my favourite tracks, “Floor Rock”, which (except from a couple vocal samples) is an instrumental track with a foot-tapping uptempo beat supported by funky trumpet and guitar solos. I say one of my favourite tracks, although in all honesty probably over half the album could fall into the same category.

During a time in which the art of hip hop music is drowning in banal B-rate lyrical thuggery, crunk, and a painful dirty-south uprising, it’s refreshing to be able to tune into a rapper with no hidden agenda. Ohmega Watts’ confident delivery, positive lyrics and well-timed rhyme scheme brings a real sense of the Old School back, and when fused with all the best parts of the New School, what results is a classic summer party album that will keep you bouncing for sure.

For more on Ohmega Watts check out:

www.myspace.com/ohmegawatts

He also has a new album out, ‘Watts Happening’ released late last year, however, I implore you to check out ‘The Find’ first; you will not be disappointed.

See y’all next week…

…Cracked

Tags: hip hop

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